NEW DELHI: In a budget which is touted to be for gaon and garib, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday proposed increasing the allocation to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare by over 78 per cent to Rs 1.39 lakh crore for 2019-20.
According to the finance minister, Rs 75,000 crore will be pumped into the Centre’s flagship programme—Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN). The government had allocated Rs 77,752 crore in the revised estimate for 2018-19.
The PM-KISAN programme aims to give an annual pension of `6,000 to around 12.6 crore small and marginal farmers in three equal instalments. It was launched just ahead of the general elections. The government has also proposed increasing the allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to Rs 14,000 crore for the current fiscal against the revised estimate of Rs 12,975.70 crore for 2018-19.
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The government estimates spending of Rs 18,000 crore towards interest subvention on short-term crop loans, while Rs 14,987 crore was allocated in the revised budget for 2018-19. To ensure a minimum support price (MSP) in times of a steep fall in prices, the government has proposed increasing the allocation by Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 3,000 crore for intervening in the market under the Market Intervention Scheme and Price Support Scheme.
Similarly, the allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Yojana is projected to be raised by Rs 100 crore to 1,500 crore.
For the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, the government has proposed raising the budget allocation to Rs 3,500 crore for this fiscal from Rs 2,954.69 crore last year.
To implement 18-odd Central schemes under the "Green Revolution’’ umbrella, the budget allocation is projected to increase to Rs 12,560 crore for 2019-20 as against the revised estimate of Rs 11,802 crore for 2018-19.
Allocation for MGNREGS down
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been allocated Rs 60,000 crore, down from Rs 61,084 crore in Budget 2018-19.