NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched Rs 20,050 crore-Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) to boost production and exports in the fisheries sector as part of the government's aim to double farmers' income.
Through video conference, the Prime Minister also launched several other initiatives in the fisheries and animal husbandry sectors worth Rs 294 crores in seven districts in Bihar, a state which is heading for the assembly polls in October-November.
"Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana has been set with this goal in mind. Today the scheme is being launched in 21 states of the country. Over 20 thousand crore rupees will be spent on this in the next 4-5 years. Out of this, work worth Rs 1,700 crores is being started today," he added.
The Prime Minister further said that with the establishment of pisciculture facilities in various places in Bihar, fish producers will get new markets for their produce.
"In Patna, Purnia, Sitamarhi, Madhepura, Kishanganj and Samastipur many facilities have been inaugurated and the foundation stone laid. With this, fish producers will get new infrastructure, modern equipment, new markets will also be available," he said.
“These projects will not only benefit the farmers of Bihar but also the ones from adjoining eastern states”, said Modi keeping his speech Bihar centric. The PM motivated the people of state in particular to explore the entrepreneurship qualities by being ‘vocal for locals’ to make Bihar as well as the country ‘atamnirbhar’.
He said: “Here, Bihar has litchi, zardalu mango, amla, makhana, madhubani painting, maize or other many such products. We have to be more vocal for these local products. The more vocal we become for these locals, the more Bihar will become self-reliant and sufficient”.
The PM also inaugurated state’s first fish feed mill at Madhepura, set up by a JNU alumnus Jyoti Mandal at the cost of Rs 1 crore for producing the feeds for fishes.
Modi launched a mobile app e-Gopala that will provide solutions to farmers on livestock related issues and inaugurated Semen Station with state-of-the-art facilities in Purnea with an investment of Rs 84.27 crore on 75 acres of land made available by the Bihar government.
The PMMSY is a flagship scheme for focused and sustainable development of fisheries sector in the country with an estimated investment of Rs 20,050 crore for its implementation during 2020-21 to 2024-25 as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat package.
After the launch, the Prime Minister interacted with farmers focusing on the livestock and fisheries sector.
The investment of Rs 20,050 crore under PMMSY is the highest ever in the fisheries sector, the PMO said on Wednesday.
Out of this, an investment of about Rs 12,340 crore is proposed for beneficiary-oriented activities in marine, inland fisheries and aquaculture and about Rs 7,710 crore investment for fisheries infrastructure.
The PMMSY aims at enhancing fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonne by 2024-25, increasing fisheries export earnings to Rs 1 lakh crore by 2024-25.
The list of prominent schemes inaugurated by PM Modi:
Wih inputs from agenies)
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