Chouhan hails Budget 2024-25 as milestone for agriculture, rural development and inclusive growth

The Union Minister of Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, lauded the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, terming it as the Amrit Kaal Budget of India. He described it as a visionary document that underscores the foresight and determination of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for a developed India. Shri Chouhan emphasised that the Budget focuses on the soul of India – its villages – and the life of the nation – its farmers. He believes that this Budget will create new dimensions in rural development and the agriculture sector, paving the way for a strong, prosperous and self-reliant India by 2047.

Essentials:

Agriculture and Farmer Welfare:

Budget allocation: Rs 1.52 lakh crore allocated for agriculture and allied sectors.

High-yielding, climate-friendly crops: Release of 109 varieties of 32 high-yielding and climate-friendly crops.

Agricultural research: Comprehensive overview with emphasis on climate-friendly crop development.

Mission Mode Production: Focus on legumes and oilseeds such as mustard, peanut, sesame, soybean and sunflower.

Natural farming: Over the next two years, 10 million farmers will be connected to natural farming to increase productivity, reduce input costs and positively impact the environment and public health.

MSP and digital integration:

Minimum Support Price (MSP): Continuous increase in MSP rates with at least 50% profit on costs.

Digital cadastral data: Link farmer databases to digital land registry data for paperless and contactless crop surveys and services.

Harvest loans: Streamlined process, reducing the time taken to get a crop loan from 15-20 days to half an hour.

Market convenience: Digital system to facilitate sale of produce in markets and mandis, with detailed land and crop records for 11 crore farmers in three years. Six crore farmers will be digitally linked in the first year, with 400 districts undergoing digital crop surveys.

Rural development:

Rural infrastructure: Rs 2.66 lakh crore allocated for rural development.

Housing: Construction of 3 crore houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for rural and urban areas.

Women empowerment: Rs 300,000 crore has been allocated for projects targeting women and girls, with the aim of making 30,000 women ‘Lakhpati Didis’.

Tribal welfare: Launch of Pradhan Mantri Janjati Unnat Gram Abhiyan for tribal majority areas and aspirational districts, benefiting 5 crore tribal people in 63,000 villages.

Inclusive growth:

Shri Chouhan emphasised that the Budget reflects the principles of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas’ and will be a milestone in the upliftment and development of women power.

He stressed that the Budget provides a comprehensive roadmap for India by 2047, with India envisioned as the world’s third-largest economy in the coming years.

Shri Chouhan concluded by hailing the Budget as an embodiment of social justice and a major step towards India’s golden future. In just a decade, India has emerged as the world’s fifth largest economy and this Budget sets the stage for further economic transformation.