The prime minister lauded the use of technology in taking the benefits to the deserved beneficiaries and also credited the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra which enabled more than a crore farmers to register themselves under the PM KISAN scheme.
Prime minister Narendra Modi released the seventeenth instalment of PM-KISAN amounting to about Rs 20,000 crores and distributed certificates to over 30,000 self-help groups known as Krishi Sakhis in Varanasi today. Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and several other state ministers were present on the occasion.
The prime minister greeted the farmers present at the venue and mentioned that Rs. 20,000 crores have been deposited in the account of crores of farmers.
“PM Kisan Samman Nidhi has emerged as the world’s largest direct benefit transfer scheme”, the prime minister said, highlighting that more than Rs 3.25 lakh crores have been transferred into the bank accounts of crores of farmers. He said that in Varanasi alone, Rs 700 crores have been transferred to farmers.
The prime minister lauded the use of technology in taking the benefits to the deserved beneficiaries and also credited the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra which enabled more than a crore farmers to register themselves under the PM KISAN scheme.
He further added that rules and regulations have been simplified to increase accessibility.
“Work related to farmer’s welfare takes place at a fast pace when intentions and beliefs are in the right place”, he said.
He also highlighted that the krishi sakhi program is a step in this direction similar to the drone didi program. Underlining the contribution of women as ASHA workers and bank sakhis, the prime minister said that the nation will now witness their capabilities as krishi sakhis.
Farmer is God
Addressing the gathering, union minister for agriculture and farmers welfare and rural development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy and the farmer is its soul. He likened the farmer to God and said that serving the farmers is like worshipping God.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan spoke of the prime minister’s commitment towards farmers and farming, saying that after becoming the prime minister, he first signed the file for Kisan Samman Nidhi i.e. depositing money in the farmer’s account.
The union minister said that today after depositing Rs 20,000 crores in the accounts of about 9.25 crores farmers with a single click of the prime minister, a total of about Rs 3,24,000 crores has been deposited in the accounts of farmers so far. He said that continuous work has been done on the roadmap to double the income of farmers. For this, on one hand, efforts are being made to increase production by using new technology through irrigation schemes, while on the other hand, to reduce the cost of production, the government gives subsidy of billions of rupees for fertilizers.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that a wonderful scheme like Kisan Credit Card has freed the farmer from the clutches of moneylenders and small farmers are arranging fertilizers and seeds from Kisan Samman Nidhi. He said that as per the decision taken by prime minister, minimum support price (MSP) is fixed by giving at least 50 per cent profit on the cost of the crop to get better prices for the crops to the farmers in all the states.
He said that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has been put in place to compensate for crop is damaged in a natural disaster. He added that continuous efforts are being made for diversification of agriculture such as promotion of flower farming, fruit farming, vegetable farming, medicinal farming, agro forestry, animal husbandry along with agriculture, beekeeping etc. so that the income of the farmer is doubled.
