The Union Cabinet approved an extension by two more years of a scheme that aims to double farmers’ income by 2022.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the continuation of the “Green Revolution – Krishonnati Scheme” beyond the 12th Plan till 2019-20 with a central share of Rs 33,269.976 crore.
It aims to bring under one umbrella 11 agricultural schemes, besides their effective monitoring.
There has been widespread concern about unremunerative prices to farmers for farm produce and inadequate access to loans and insurance.
Farmers have agitated in different parts of the country, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, on the issues in the past.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s performance in the rural areas of Gujarat compared with urban centres in the Assembly polls last year was less than expected and the party has been seeking to increase its rural outreach.
Apart from Karnataka’s May 12 elections, Assembly elections remain to be held in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh during the year.
The scheme, launched last year, will get a central share of Rs 33,279 crore for three fiscals — 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
“In order to fulfil the promise of doubling farmers’ income, our government has taken the decision to club 11 schemes into one umbrella scheme. It is a historic decision,” Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told the media.
