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Centre spending ₹6.5 lakh crore annually for farmers' welfare: PM Modi
PM Modi was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress at International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC), in Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Union government is spending ₹6.5 lakh crore every year for the agriculture sector and farmers' welfare, and urged the cooperatives to help in making India self-reliant in edible oils.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress at the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC), in Delhi, on the occasion of International Day of Cooperatives, PM Modi said that the cooperatives are being provided the facilities like that of corporate sector.
Here's what PM Modi said:
1. At present, more than 25,000 cooperative sectors are working in the fisheries sector. Inland fisheries have seen a growth of 2x in the past nine years. This is improving the lives of the fishermen and improving their earning capacity.
2. Milk powder to butter to ghee, the Indian produce is in demand in the world. A new market is being formed for our millets. Our Shree Anna can be a great opportunity as source of income for small farmers.
3. The government has promoted Digital India, enabling direct benefits to reach beneficiaries directly. The aim is also to eliminate the dependency on cash transactions.
4. India's dominance in digital transactions has become our identity in the world. This needs to be incorporated in our Cooperative sector as well.
5. Every year, the government is providing an average of ₹50,000 to every farmer in some form or the other.
6. Many small farmers are receiving benefits under the PM-KISAN scheme without any interference from middlemen. In the past four years, a direct transfer of ₹2.5 lakh crore has been made into the bank accounts of farmers under the scheme.
7. Cooperatives can play a major role in making India self-reliant.
8. Ethanol worth ₹70,000 crore has been purchased from sugar mills in the past nine years.
9. We have moved from less than ₹90,000 crore spent in the five years under UPA government years for the agriculture sector to having a single scheme, PM KISAN Samman Nidhi that is spending 3 times the amount.
10. The union government is spending ₹6.5 lakh crore on farmers' welfare and agriculture every year.
Meanwhile, union home minister Amit Shah said, "The cooperative movement is about 115 years old in our country. Since independence, the main demand of the workers of the cooperative sector was that the Ministry of Cooperation should be made separate. After PM Modi was re-elected as the Prime Minister in 2019, he constituted a separate Ministry of Cooperation"
The 17th Indian Cooperative Congress is being organised from July 1-2. During the two-day event, the stakeholders will discuss various trends in cooperative movement, showcase best practices being adopted, deliberate challenges being faced and chalk out future policy action for growth of India’s cooperative movement.
(With inputs from agencies)
