Agriculture policy

India faces a significant challenge in foodgrain storage, with a substantial gap between production and storage capacity, leading to potential losses and impacting food security.

The minister said that the Farmers Distress Inde is designed to develop a forewarning system to take preventive measures to identify farmer distress, providing alerts three months in advance.

Choudhary said that to assist states in regulating groundwater resources, the ministry of Jal Shakti drafted a Model ‘Groundwater (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Bill.’ This bill provides a regulatory framework to curb indiscriminate groundwater extraction while promoting rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge.

A gene bank serves as a biorepository for preserving genetic material, such as seeds, pollen, and tissue samples, collected from various plant species. The primary objective is to protect these valuable resources from extinction and support research, conservation, and breeding efforts.

Omar Abdullah, the head of the Kashmir government, stated that Kashmir is facing a severe threat from climate change, particularly in the form of a water crisis. He stressed the need for greater awareness and action.

Minister of state for agriculture Ashish Jaiswal, who also attended the Nagpur event, emphasised the critical role of these assured funds in providing relief to farmers facing persistent financial challenges.

PM Modi expressed satisfaction that the PM-KISAN scheme, which has now disbursed nearly ₹22,000 crore in this instalment alone, has proven invaluable to small farmers nationwide.

PMFBY remains a cornerstone in India’s agricultural policy, safeguarding farmers' livelihoods and ensuring a resilient farming ecosystem.