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What are the Schemes for Farmers in India

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The Indian agriculture industry is the primary source of livelihood for 58% of the population, and that is more than half of the population. Irrespective of how much we move to corporate life and modernization, farming still remains to be our backbone. Most of us crave to leave the metropolitan city to move to a quiet village with no pollution. Well, of all this being said – farming turns out to be something that we cannot allow to pass. That is why the government launches varied schemes for farmers and on behalf of agriculture and farming grew in the country. Want to know about them? Happy to tell you. In this article, let’s talk about the farming schemes the Government has launched for farmers.

But, before we get into the schemes, let’s know why these schemes are needed.

Why Do Farmers Need Government Schemes?

Our living depends on food – and they are the only thread to it. Early this year, we faced an economical downside, and the agriculture sector was the only part that rose down by 3%. These schemes are for the betterment of the farmers and in turn, the betterment of their yield and the country.

Farmer Development Schemes of India

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

In 2014-15, the Government of India launched the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) to make agriculture more productive, sustainable, profitable, and climate-resilient. To accomplish these objectives. The purpose encourages location-specific sustainable and best agricultural techniques – soil conservation and moisture protection measures, soil nutrient management, and efficient and sustainable water management strategies that use rainfed methods.

‘On-Farm Water Management’ (OFWM) is being implemented as a major component of the mission with the goal of increasing water use efficiency by promoting modern technologies such as micro-irrigation and sustainable water management practices, efficient water consumption, better distribution channels, and secondary storage facilities.

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Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana

The Government of India designed the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with the goal of expanding irrigation coverage and improving water usage efficiency in a targeted manner. PMKSY focuses on source generation, distribution, maintenance, field application, and extension operations from start to finish. On July 1, 2015, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the irrigation program.

The initiative was designed by the Centre by combining earlier irrigation and water management programs such as the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), and the On-Farm Water Management (OFWM) scheme. The Centre has approved Rs. 50,000 crore over a five-year period for the implementation of India’s flagship irrigation scheme.

Micro Irrigation Fund Scheme

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has established a Micro Irrigation Fund with a corpus of Rs. 5,000 crore, which would be operational in 2019-20. The fund’s goal is to assist states in obtaining an interest-free loan to expand the coverage of micro-irrigation facilities by undertaking special and innovative projects, as well as to incentivize micro-irrigation beyond the provisions available under PMKSY. And it is to encourage farmers to install micro-irrigation systems.

Kisan Credit Card

In order to provide farmers with adequate and timely credit for agricultural expenditures, the Central Government launched the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme in 1998. The scheme provides farm financing at a heavily subsidized rate of 4% per year from the Government of India. Since 2019, the Centre has expanded the benefits of the Kisan Credit Card to farmers in animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries for their working capital needs, as well as increased the existing maximum of collateral-free loan from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs.1.60 lakh.

As part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package, the Centre has launched a special campaign to cover 2.5 crore farmers under the KCC plan with a credit increase of Rs 2 lakh crore. As a result, according to data from the Government of India, the package has distributed Rs. 1.35 lakh crore to 1.5 crore farmers under the scheme.

PM Kisan Samriddhi Yojana

The PM Kisan Samriddhi Yojana, which was launched on February 24, 2019, transfers Rs 6,000 per year directly to farmers’ bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in three installments of Rs 2,000 each. The initiative intends to safeguard farmers from falling into the cruel traps of local moneylenders and to maintain their continued participation in farming activities by supplementing their financial needs in purchasing farm supplies and other agricultural expenses.

PM Kusum

On February 19, 2019, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) authorized the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM-Kusum) initiative to minimize the consumption of diesel and energy for agricultural irrigation. With a total Central financial support of Rs 34,422 crore, the PM Kusum program aims to add 25,750 MW of solar and another renewable capacity by 2022.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set a target of installing 10,000 MW of decentralized grid-connected renewable power plants with individual plant sizes of up to 2 MW, as well as 20 lakh solar-powered agricultural pumps with individual pump capacities of up to 7.5 HP and solarisation of 15 lakh grid-connected irrigation pumps with individual capacities of up to 7.5 HP, under the scheme.

These are just some schemes out of the many that the government has established for farmers. Moreover, there are schemes coming up frequently for the growth of the agriculture and farming sector.

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Conclusion

You must have gotten a good look at some of the best schemes that can benefit farmers. Also, let us hope there are more to come, which will be well implemented and change the outlook of the sector to a whole new level.

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