Samikhsya Bureau
The National Democratic Alliance government on Friday announced an income support bonanza for farmers–Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi–under which Rs.6,000 per hectare in a year will be deposited directly in the bank accounts of about 12 crore farmers in the country.
It also announced creation of a separate department of fisheries, taking it away from the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare.
The Centre will bear the cost of the entire scheme PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.
Announcing this in the Lok Sabha while presenting the Budget for 2019-20, Union finance minister Piyush Goyal said he was providing Rs.75,000 crore for the income support scheme and another Rs. 20,000 crore in the Revised Estimate for the current year (2018-19) itself.
“This will pave the way for farmers to earn and live a life of respect and is towards our goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022,” the minister said amidst loud cheering from treasury benches.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also seen thumping his desk with a smile.
Goyal said that the amount will be deposited in farmers’ accounts in three instalments in a year, of which Rs 2000 per hectare will be deposited right away. “This will help farmers with acquiring farm inputs such as quality seeds, irrigation, neem-coated urea and credit.’
The minister also announced a raise in interest subvention of timely repayment of farm credit.
“Farm credit is Rs 11.68 lakh crore,” he said recognising the good work done by farmers.
In keeping with the policy of the government, the minister announced the formation of a Rashtriya Kamdhenu Ayog to upscale the production and productivity of cows.
An additional Rs. 750 crore has been allocated for the National Gokul Mission.
Goyal also announced “sustained and focused” attention to the fisheries and animal husbandry sector that have grown. Significantly, he announced an additional 3 per cent income sub-vention for farmers involved in fisheries taking the entire interest sub-vention up to 5 per cent, at par with crop loan discounts.
To make all farmers come under the Kisan Credit Card scheme, the government has simplified the forms, he said.
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh (in pic) trashed the Union Budget for 2019-20 as a ‘jumla budget’ of the Modi government. Singh termed the Rs. 6,000 a year announced for marginal farmers as mere peanuts.
With just Rs 500 a month for the distressed farmers, the Modi government had made it obvious that they did not recognise the gravity of the problem, said Capt Amarinder, dubbing the exercise as a mockery of the interests of the farming community.
“They had promised Rs.15 lakhs in accounts of all but have ended up giving only Rs.6,000 a year to farmers up to 2 hectares of land, and that too at the end of their tenure, clearly showing their lack of intent to do anything for the farmers’ welfare,” he said.
Even the minimum support price (MSP) of 50 per cent above the production cost was nothing but eyewash as the government was not buying all the items on the list, he said, pointing out that while maize had an MSP it was not being bought by the government, forcing the farmers to sell it at an abominably low cost.
The entire budget, he said, was in ‘future tense’, as it talked about a USD 5 trillion economy in five years and a USD 10 trillion economy in the next eight years. Nowhere did it reflect the achievements of the BJP-led NDA government of the past five years, he added.
On the other hand, Communist Party of India (CPI) national general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar demanded the Centre to increase cash support to small and marginal farmers from Rs.6,000 to Rs. 12,000 per year.
At a press conference in Hyderabad, Reddy welcomed the scheme for announcing it to only below five acres of land farmers. But he said that there was no use with the PM Kisahan Samman Nidhi scheme once after cut-down by the other subsidies like seed, fertilisers and other existing subsidies to the farmers. “If they are firm on farmers (interest), the Centre should implement Swaminathan Committee recommendation. It is the only solution for the farm sector which is in distress state now”, the CPI leader said.
(With agency reports)
