VIJAYAWADA: Speaking at the Niti Aayog’s 7th Governing Council meeting in New Delhi on Sunday, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy elaborated on the State government’s initiatives to develop agriculture and ensure that every child gets proper education as per the norms of the Right to Education Act, 2009.
Noting that AP became a total agrarian economy after the State bifurcation in 2014, Jagan said the government has prioritised agriculture as 62% of the state population is dependent on it, accounting for more than 35% to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
Elaborating on the initiatives taken to help farmers, the chief minister said, “The government has been implementing schemes such as YSR Rythu Bharosa - PM Kisan, free crop insurance, interest-free crop loans, nine hours of free power. The government has also set up 10,778 Rythu Bharosa Kendras, which act as a one-stop-solution centre to farmers."
The information kiosks at RBKs update the farmers on the latest technologies, market information and even online marketing. Besides, an integrated call centre has been set up to provide valuable inputs from agriculture scientists to the farmers, Jagan said.
The chief minister pointed out that the government launched CMAPP (Continuous Monitoring of Agriculture Prices and Procurement) to monitor crops and added, “Whenever there is need, we are taking up market intervention activities to ensure farmers do no suffer losses.”
Jagan added that the State government is also encouraging farmers to practise inter-crop and intra-crop cultivation, natural farming and use of organic fertilisers and pesticides. On the education front, the chief minister said various measures have been initiated to increase GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) and prevent school dropouts.
“Andhra Pradesh has a GER of 84.48 per cent compared to 99.21 per cent in the country. The statistics released in 2018, show the State in poor light and our government is working towards changing it,” he said. Further, Jagan elaborated on the initiatives such as Amma Vodi, where mothers sending their children to government schools are given Rs 15,000 per year. However, the aid is provided only when a student has an attendance of 75 per cent and above, he added.
Under Vidya Kanuka, Jagan said, government school students are provided with textbooks, notebooks, shoes and three pairs of uniforms.“Further, the government is providing bilingual textbooks, and English-Telugu dictionaries as well. We have also tied up with ed-tech major Byju’s to offer quality teaching and as part of this, Class 8 students in government schools will be given tabs from this year,” the chief minister explained.
Referring to Mana Badi Nadu-Nedu, the chief minister said 55,555 government schools in the State are being revamped with Rs 17,900 crore to provide clean toilets, safe drinking water, well-furnished classrooms, green boards, English labs, compound walls and digital classrooms to the students.