In a landmark event, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar unveiled initiatives focused on agri-credit (KCC & MISS) and crop insurance (PMFBY/RWBCIS).
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare launched three initiatives - the Kisan Rin Portal (KRP), KCC Ghar Ghar Abhiyaan, an ambitious campaign aiming to extend the benefits of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme to every farmer across the nation, and a manual on Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS).
These initiatives aim to revolutionise agriculture, enhance financial inclusion, optimise data utilisation, and improve the lives of farmers across the nation, according to an official release.
Delivering keynote address on the occasion, Sitharaman assured full cooperation of banks for success of Ghar Ghar KCC Abhiyan. She said that the government under Prime minister Narendra Modi has allocated enough money under KCC scheme to ensure easy short-term loans to farmers and their onboarding for the scheme.
The finance minister commended Ministry of Agriculture for its initiatives and successful implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and said that over Rs 1,40,000 crore of insurance amount has been disbursed to farmers so far against a premium amount of Rs. 29,000 crore.
She also appreciated real time estimation for rice and wheat crop output and called for the estimation to be extended to Dalhan (pulses) and Tilhan (oilseeds) crops so that better planning can be done for their imports, if needed.
The finance minister said that real time estimation of crops will help the economy and ensure right prices for farmers at the end of crop season.
Sitharaman also called for full automation of regional rural banks and cooperative banks and directed Department of Financial services to study the gap between loan sanction and loan disbursement for these banks.
Tomar in his address highlighted the importance accorded to agriculture and rural economy under the current government and informed that budget for agriculture ministry has increased from Rs. 23,000 crore in year 2013-14 to Rs. 1,25,000 crore in 2023-24.
Talking of WINDS manual, the minister said the aim is to ensure real time weather information so that farmers can take right precaution for their crops at the right time.
Tomar said that use of technology and transparency is important for agriculture and this government has taken necessary steps in this regard.
The agriculture minister informed that there are around 9 crore beneficiaries under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and the aim of KCC Ghar Ghar Abhiyaan is to connect around 1.5 crore beneficiaries who are not yet connected to KCC scheme.
Tomar also thanked Ministry of Finance and banks for providing around 2 crore KCCs to farmers even during Corona pandemic. The minister asserted that it was agriculture and rural sector which kept the economy going even during the pandemic.