NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Interim Budget 2024-25, said on Thursday that efforts of value addition in the agri sector and increasing farmers’ income will be stepped up, adding, 11.8 crore farmers – including marginal and small farmers – have been provided financial assistance under PM Kisan Yojana.
The Interim Budget 2024-25 allocated Rs 1,17,528.79 crore for the Ministry of Agriculture that makes for about 2% of the Union Budget -- slightly lower than the revised estimate for the year at Rs 1,16,788 crore. The budget estimate for FY24 for the sector was Rs 1,25,036 crore.
She said that Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefited 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh jobs. Adding more, she said that PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and 60,000 individuals with credit linkages. She added that the Minimum Support Prices for ‘Annadata’ (farmers) increased periodically. She said the poor, women, youth, and farmers’ needs are the government’s priority areas.
The FM said that crop insurance is given to 4 crore farmers under PM Fasal Bima Yojana and these are assisting farmers in producing food for the country and for the world. The allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare stood at Rs 1.27 lakh crore.
While reading out the Interim Budget 2024-25, FM Sitharaman said that efforts to increase farmers’ income will be stepped up.
The advance GDP estimates show the sector’s growth decelerate from 4% in 2022-23 to 1.8% in the current fiscal. Even the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for April-November revealed the output of consumer durables decelerated to 0.6%, against 5.3% in the same period last year. Last year the Union government spent less on agriculture than what it was allocated. The Central government spent over Rs 4,000 crore less than what was allocated in its budgetary estimate.
Reacting to the move, farmers rights activist and founder of Rythu Swaraj Vedika Kiran Vissa said the Budget will further increase farm distress.
“Instead of doubling farmers’ income, this government has achieved putting farmers’ debt at an all-time high by reducing the budget along with lesser spending,” said Vissa.
In her budget speech Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman underlined the importance of PM-Kisan Samman Yojana in which direct financial assistance is provided to 11.8 crore farmers, including marginal and small farmers and Crop insurance is given to 4 crore farmers under PM Fasal Bima Yojana. The PM-KISAN provides cash support of Rs 6,000 as an increment.
However, the aggregate spending on the four key schemes related to the rural economy has witnessed a rise in allocation after dropping in the past two fiscal years.