Budget 2016: Big spends for farmers’ income security

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an allocation of Rs 35,984 crores to improve farmers' welfare and a slew of new investment initiatives to improve productivity in his Budget 2016 presentation on Monday.

At an expense of RS 17,000 crores, as many as 89 irrigation projects will be fast-tracked to help 80.6 lakh hectares under cultivation. “A long-term irrigation fund will also be created with a corpus of 20,000 crores will be created,” Jaitley said in Parliament.

A major program that will cost Rs 60,000 crores will be launched to develop safe groundwater sources.

To increase crop yield in rain-fed areas, for the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Gath Yojana and for an emphasis on value addition, as much as Rs 412 crores will be allocated.

For enhanced pulses’ production, a Rs 500 crores program covering 622 districts will be launched.

To take advantage of technology to examine soil and its nutrient content a Rs 368 crores soil health facility is to be set up, Jaitley said. A Soil Health Card Scheme will be implemented and 2000 model retail outlets with seed testing facilities will be set up in three years.
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For better access for farmers to the market, a unified agricultural market scheme is envisioned, Jaitley said. As much as Rs 27,000 crores will be spent, to advance the completion of this program to 2019 from the earlier 2021.

In the case of natural calamities, a timely flow of credit to farmers is essential and Jaitley announced the setting up of a Rs 9 lakh crores credit line, which is the highest ever. To reduce the burden of loan payment, Rs 15,000 crores will be set aside towards interest subvention, Jaitley added.

Jaitley announced a spend of Rs 850 crores to develop a National Centre for Indigenous breeds to enhance the dairy sector. Other measures include an animal health card scheme and an e-pashudhan haat.