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Modi releases ₹16k crore as 12th PM-Kisan payout
PM Modi launches the government’s One Nation One Fertiliser programme and asked cultivators to adopt new technologies and strive to be atmanirbhar (self-sufficient)
NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday released cash transfers worth ₹16,000 crore to nearly 80 million farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme and launched the government’s One Nation One Fertiliser programme, asking cultivators to adopt new technologies and strive to be atmanirbhar (self-sufficient).
Reaching out to farmers, an influential voting bloc, Modi said India’s farming community, especially small growers, are poised to take a leap on the back of high-tech innovations percolating to the ground. He held interactions with cultivators from various states, calling upon them to produce “more crop per drop” by switching to water-saving technologies.
Modi also unveiled Bharat Urea under the government’s fertilizer subsidy programme now christened as the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Urvarak Pariyojana. Under the programme, which is also being called One Nation One Fertiliser, all forms of subsidised soil nutrients are being uniformly rebranded as “Bharat”.
The government’s fertiliser subsidy bill is estimated to increase to ₹2.5 lakh crore during 2022-23 due to higher international prices and supply disruptions caused by the Black Sea conflict.
Modi was addressing a two-day conclave organised jointly by the fertiliser and agriculture ministries, where agricultural startups showcased farming innovations and equipment. India has nearly 3,000 farm startups, offering services such as artificial intelligence-based crop health monitoring and drone-based spraying.
The event, held at the New Delhi-based National Agricultural Research Institute, was streamed live and watched by millions of farmers.
Nearly 350,000 retail fertiliser shops across the nations were being converted to Pradan Mantri Kisan Samruddhi Kendras in a phased manner, Modi announced. These outlets will offer fertilisers, farming inputs, equipment, advisories and crop resources under a single roof. “These outlets will have a close relationship with farmers, which will help them and answer their questions,” the PM said.
Making a strong pitch for “atmanirbharta” or self-sufficiency, the prime minister said farmers had a key role to ensure the country stopped its heavy reliance on imports
“Why do I stress so much on atmanirbharta (self-sufficiency)? We have to understand this and work in mission mode. We import cooking oil, fertiliser and crude oil. We spend lakhs of crores. When there are problems in countries abroad, we are also impacted,” the PM said.
“Earlier we suffered because there were pandemic-related disruptions. Now, there is a geopolitical conflict. Things are getting very costly. We import urea at the rate ₹70-80 a kg and give the same at ₹5-6 to farmers. This impinges the financial ability to undertake other development work.”
Farming will increasingly face ecological and climate challenges, Modi said, asking farmers to move to micro and drip irrigation, which, he said, saved water and boosted productivity. “More than 70 lakh hectare (7 million) land has been brought under micro irrigation in the last eight years.”
Modi said farmers are now increasingly adopting indigenously developed liquid nano urea, which increases productivity and is cheaper. The government has decided to brand the Centre’s fertiliser subsidy programme as the prime minister’s scheme, as HT reported in August.
Packaging bags of various crop nutrients bought by millions of farmers across the country will now have the “Bharat” logo and design, unveiled by Modi. Fertiliser companies will have to display the programme’s new name prominently on their packaging.
Under the subsidy programme, the Union government reimburses fertiliser companies for selling their products to cultivators at lower-than-market prices.
