Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said that he expects credit flow to farm sector exceed Rs 2,00,000 crore by next year to make agriculture a profitable activity.
"We will far exceed our target of Rs 1,75,000 crore and my hope is we will exceed it by a larger amount. We should have Rs 2,00,000 crore as credit delivery by next year," he said.
He was addressing the plenary session of 6th Baramati Initiative on ICT and Development organised by Vidyapratishthan Institute of Information Technology (VIIT) in Baramati on Saturday.
"Goal is to make farming as profitable as manufacturing and services sector," he said.
The Finance Minister identified five key ingredients -- water, credit, technology and market -- that could transform the agriculture into a profitable exercise that will attract investments.
Asking for new designs and technique for irrigation, Chidambaram stressed on drip irrigation to maximise the use of water.
"We have announced a package of Rs 4,500 crore package for repair, restoration and renovation of water bodies and in the first phase, the government has identified 20,000 water bodies to be addressed in the first phase," he said.
Describing the current state of cooperative sector being in shambles, the Finance Minister expressed confidence that all state governments will sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of Rs 14,500 crore scheme to revitalise the cooperative credit structure.
{{/usCountry}}Describing the current state of cooperative sector being in shambles, the Finance Minister expressed confidence that all state governments will sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of Rs 14,500 crore scheme to revitalise the cooperative credit structure.
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