Price range 2025-26: Govt traces up key schemes to spice up credit score entry, productiveness, self-reliance, farmer welfare | India Information – The Occasions of India

NEW DELHI: Positioning agriculture because the “first engine” of development, the federal government on Saturday proposed a number of schemes, together with the launch of a particular programme in 100 low-productivity agri-districts, geared toward boosting farm output and enhancing farmers’ well-being and total rural prosperity. Moreover, a six-year mission was proposed to make the nation self-reliant in pulses.
Moreover, it additionally introduced growing the subsidised Kisan Credit score Card (KCC) mortgage restrict to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 3 lakh.The KCC at the moment facilitates short-term loans for 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers. It helps them meet their short-term monetary wants for actions like farming and publish farming operations, animal rearing, poultry farming, and fisheries.
The brand new district-based scheme, impressed by the success of the ‘aspirational districts’ programme, goals to reinforce agricultural productiveness, undertake crop diversification and sustainable agriculture practices, increase post-harvest storage at panchayat and block ranges, enhance irrigation amenities, and facilitate availability of long-term and short-term credit score.
The scheme will likely be carried out in partnership with states within the 100 agri-districts, grappling with low productiveness, average crop depth and below-average credit score parameters. “This programme is probably going to assist 1.7 crore farmers,” stated finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The six-year mission for pulses will deal with boosting tur, urad and masoor output by improvement and industrial availability of climate-resilient seeds, enhancing protein content material, growing productiveness, bettering post-harvest storage and administration, and assuring remunerative costs to farmers. “Beneath this initiative, cooperatives Nafed and NCCF will procure pulses for 4 years from registered farmers who enter into agreements with these businesses,” stated Sitharaman.
A complete programme to advertise manufacturing, environment friendly provides and processing of fruits, greens and millets can even be launched in partnership with states.
Different initiatives proposed embody launch of a Nationwide Mission on Excessive Yielding Seeds and a Mission for Cotton Productiveness; establishing of a Makhana Board in Bihar; bringing out an enabling framework for sustainable harnessing of fisheries from Indian Unique Financial Zone and Excessive Seas with a particular deal with Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands; and establishing a fertiliser plant with annual capability of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes at Namrup, Assam.
The nationwide mission on excessive yielding seeds geared toward strengthening the analysis ecosystem, improvement and propagation of high-yielding, pest-resistance and climate-resilient seeds, and making certain industrial availability of greater than 100 seed varieties launched since July 2024.
Beneath budgetary allocation, the federal government proposed Rs 1.37 lakh crore for 2025-26, which is 2.75% lower than the allocation for the present yr. The allied sectors, however, obtained larger allocation with fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying witnessing 37% improve to Rs 7,544 crore.
Lauding the funds as “visionary”, the Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that the funds geared toward making India a self-reliant and developed nation.
Sitharaman within the funds additionally proposed launching a complete multi-sectoral ‘Rural Prosperity and Resilience’ programme in partnership with states. “This can tackle underemployment in agriculture by skilling, funding, expertise, and invigorating the agricultural economic system. The aim is to generate ample alternatives in rural areas in order that migration is an choice, however not a necessity,” she stated.
The programme will deal with rural ladies, younger farmers, rural youth, marginal and small farmers, and landless households. “World and home greatest practices will likely be included and applicable technical and monetary help will likely be sought from multilateral improvement banks. In Section-I, 100 creating agri-districts will likely be coated,” she introduced.