Lok Sabha Question No. 55 (STARRED), answered on 2024-02-06
Subject: Increasing Income from Agriculture
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Manjulata Mandal, C.N. Annadurai

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.55

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 06 TH  FEBRUARY, 2024

## INCREASING INCOME FROM AGRICULTURE

*55. SHRIMATI MANJULATA MANDAL: SHRI C.N. ANNADURAI:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken any steps to increase the income from agriculture in the country and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the details of the schemes being implemented by the Government to promote cash crops;

(c)  the  details  of  the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  provide agriculture loans to the farmers; and

(d) the corrective steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to make agriculture a profitable business and to waive farmers loans?

## Answer

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी (SHRI  ARJUN MUNDA)

(a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the house.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 55 REGARDING 'INCREASING INCOME FROM AGRICULTURE' FOR REPLY ON 6 TH  FEBRUARY, 2024

(a): Government of  India  has  identified  the  following  seven  sources  for  enhancing income growth of farmers: -

- i. Increase in crop productivity
- ii. Increase in livestock productivity
- iii. Resource use efficiency - reduction in cost of production
- iv. Increase in cropping intensity
- v. Diversification to high value agriculture
- vi. Remunerative prices on farmers' produce
- vii. Shift of surplus manpower from farm to non-farm occupations

To achieve the above seven objectives, Government of India supplements the efforts  of  States  and  welfare  of  farmers  through  appropriate  policy  measures  and budgetary support and various schemes/ programmes. The Government has substantially enhanced the budget allocation of  Ministry  of Agriculture  & Farmers Welfare from  Rs. 27,662.67 crore BE during 2013-14 to Rs. 1,25,035.79 crore BE during 2023-24.

Agriculture and welfare of farmers are major concern for Government of India. In 2015  the  name  of  the  Ministry  has  been  re-designated  as  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and Farmers welfare with the main objective of working for welfare of farmers.  Ministry  of Agriculture and Farmers welfare as well as other stakeholder Ministries like Ministry of Cooperation, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Department of Fisheries and Ministry  of  Rural  Developmenthave  launched  various  schemes/programmes  to  make agriculture more remunerative and farmers may get maximum benefit.

Enhanced budgetary provisions have been made to facilitate the below mentioned efforts of the Government. The various schemes/ programmes of the Government of India are meant for the welfare of farmers by increasing production, remunerative returns and income support to farmers, which include:

1.  Income support to farmers through PM KISAN
2.  Pradhan MantriFasalBimaYojana (PMFBY)
3.  Institutional credit for agriculture sector
4.  Fixing of Minimum Support Price (MSP) at one-and-a half times the cost of production
5.  Promotion of organic farming in the country
6.  Per Drop More Crop
7.  Micro Irrigation Fund
8.  Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)
9.  National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM)
10.  Agricultural Mechanization
11.  Providing Soil Health Cards to farmers
12.  Namo Drone Didi
13.  Setting up of National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) extension Platform
14.  Launch of the National Mission for Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)
15.  Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF)
16.  Improvement in farm produce logistics, Introduction of Kisan Rail.
17.  Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture ( MIDH) - Cluster Development Programme:
18.  Creation of a Start-up Eco system in agriculture and allied sector
19.  Achievement in Export of Agri and Allied Agri- Commodities

The benefit accruing from the above schemes are summarized in terms of achievement isat Annexure-I .

Additionally,  DARE,  which  is  a  part  of  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare, implemented  schemes  which  have  yield  remarkable  results  towards  augmenting  the income of the farmers. Indian  Council of Agricultural  Research (ICAR) has  released  a book, which contains compilation of success stories of 75,000 farmers out of innumerable successful farmers who have increased their income more than two times.

The expenditure on farmers' welfare in the country has improved manifold in 2022-23 i.e. 6.5 lakh crore was spent in this year alone. Details of spending as per Revised Estimate by the Central Government during 2022-23 on agriculture and allied sectors for welfare of farmers are as follows;

| Item of Expenditure                                  |   Amount (Rs in crore) |
|------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|
| Fertilizer subsidy                                   |                 225220 |
| Food subsidy                                         |                 287194 |
| Agriculture & allied activities (Excluding PM-KISAN) |                  76279 |
| PM-KISAN                                             |                  60000 |
| Total                                                |                 648693 |

Besides, there are many Schemes implemented by other Ministries and Departments of the Government of India where majority of the beneficiaries are farmers (RE 2022-23)

| Sl No.   | Department/ Scheme                                                    | Amount in crore)                | (Rs                             |
|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| 1        | Department of Rural Development                                       | Department of Rural Development | Department of Rural Development |
| i        | Pradhan MantriAwasYojana- Rural (PMAY)                                | 48,422                          |                                 |
| ii       | Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY)                               | 19,000                          |                                 |
| iii      | Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MNREGS) | 89400                           |                                 |
| iv       | National Social Assistance Programme (Pension)                        | 9,652                           |                                 |
| v        | National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)                              | 13336.42                        |                                 |

| 2   | Ministry of Jal Shakti                                      | Ministry of Jal Shakti   |
|-----|-------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|
| i   | Pradhan MantriKrishiSinchaiYojana (PMKSY)                   | 7084.50                  |
| ii  | Jal Jeevan Mission/ National Rural Drinking Water Programme | 54808.87                 |
| 3   | Department of Fisheries                                     | 1624.18                  |
| 4   | Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying                 | 3105.17                  |
|     | Total                                                       | 2,46,433.14              |

Among  the  Ministries  which  constitute  allied  sectors  of  agricultural  sector  and  their achievements are given below:

- I. Ministry of Cooperation is at Annexure-II
- II. Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying is at Annexure-III
- III. Department of Fisheries is at Annexure-IV
4. (b):          Department  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  is  implementing  scheme  on commercial crops viz., cotton, jute &allied fibres and sugarcane in 19 states viz., Assam, Andhra  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Gujarat,  Haryana,  Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh,  Uttarakhand  and West Bengal for enhancing production  & productivity  under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) from 2014-15. Under this scheme, thrust has been given on transfer of technology through frontline demonstrations and training in order to extend benefits to the farmers. Allocation (central share) made to the states under the scheme during last 3 years & current year is given below:

(Rs in crores)

| Year    |   Allocation |
|---------|--------------|
| 2020-21 |        32.42 |
| 2021-22 |        32.62 |
| 2022-23 |        36.92 |
| 2023-24 |        41.66 |

(c) : The government announces an annual target for agriculture credit every year. The Department of Financial Services, in association/consultation with RBI & NABARD, is also taking several measures/initiatives to increase the flow of credit to Agriculture including fixing of target for agriculture lending to each scheduled commercial bank and cooperative bank. The Priority Sector Lending (PSL) target for agriculture is 18% of the Adjusted Net Bank  Credit.      Ground  Level  Credit  (GLC)/ Agricultural  credit  flow  has  consistently progressed  yearly.  The  agriculture  credit  flow  target  for  2022-23  has  been  fixed  at Rs.18,50,000 crores, against the target total achievement of Rs. 21,55,163 crores.

The Kisan Credit Card (KCC), which has been in operation since August 1998, has emerged  as  an  innovative  credit  delivery  mechanism  to  meet  the  production  credit requirements of farmers in a timely and hassle-free manner. The scheme has since been simplified  by  providing  the  farmers  with  ATM-enabled  debit  cards  based  on  one-time documentation, multiple withdrawals within the limit, built-in cost escalation in the limit, etc. During  2018-19,  the  KCC  Scheme  and  benefits  of  interest  subvention  were  extended  to animal husbandry and fisheries farmers.

The GoI is implementing the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) to provide short-term agri-loans availed by farmers through KCC at a concessional rate of interest to meet their working capital requirements. Under this scheme, interest subvention is provided on  short-term  loans  of  up  to  Rs  3  lakh  drawn  on  KCC  to  ensure  that  the  loan  becomes available to all farmers, including women farmers, at an interest rate of 7% per annum. An additional 3% subvention is also given to the farmers for prompt and timely repayment of loans, thus reducing the effective rate of interest to 4% per annum. In case of short-term loans availed for allied activities like animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries, etc, the interest subvention is available on the loan amount up to Rs. 2.00 lakh at the rate of 7%. An additional 3% interest subvention is also available on it.

Though KCC is a demand driven scheme but DA&FW time and again has also run special campaign for increasing the saturation of KCC. Currently, 'Ghar Ghar KCC Abhiyan', is in progress with a special focus on saturating PM KISAN beneficiaries to extend the benefit of KCC and interest subvention to the farmers. Further, Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY) was also conducted to raise awareness through outreach activities to achieve saturation of various schemes, including KCC. In addition, under the PM JANMAN Yojana, the government aims to saturate PVTGs with other centrally sponsored schemes, including the KCC.

(d): There is no proposal under consideration for waiver of farm loans.

## Schemes/ Programmes of Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

## 1. Unprecedented enhancement in budget allocation

The Government has substantially enhanced the budget allocation of Ministry of Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  from  Rs.  27,662.67 crore BE  during  2013-14  to  Rs. 1,25,035.79 crore BE during 2023-24.

## 2. Income support to farmers through PM KISAN

Launch of PM-KISAN in 2019 -an income support scheme providing Rs. 6000 per year in 3 equal installments. More than Rs .  2.81 lakh crore has been released so far to more than 11 crore farmers as on 30.11.2023.

## 3. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

Seven year (Provisional) -  PMFBY  was launched in 2016 addressing problems of high premium  rates  for  farmers  and  reduction  in  sum  insured  due  to  capping.  In  past  7  Years  of implementation  -  49.44  crore  farmer  applications  enrolled  and  over  14.06  crore  (Provisional) farmer applicants have received claims of over Rs. 1,46,664 crore.   During this period nearly Rs. 29,183  crore  were  paid  by  farmers  as  their  share  of  premium  against  which  claims  over  Rs. 1,46,664 crore (Provisional) have been paid to them.   Thus for every 100 rupees of premium paid by farmers, they have received about  Rs. 502  as claims.

DigiClaimFor  transparency in calculation  and  payment  of claims,  Claim Payment Module to workout claims and to transfer these claims directly to the farmer's account is being done through National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) using PFMS platform. This initiative has been launched on 23rd March, 2023 for implementation from Kharif  2022 season claims onwards.  All the claims are now been paid by insurance companies directly to farmers account through Digiclaim.

## 4. Institutional credit for agriculture sector

- i. Increased from Rs. 7.3 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs. 21.55 lakh crore in 2022-23.
- ii. Benefit of concessional institutional credit through KCC at 4% interest per annum has also now been extended to Animal Husbandry and Fisheries farmers for meeting their shortterm working capital needs.
- iii. A  special  drive  has  been  undertaken  since  February  2020  to  provide  concessional institutional credit with focus on covering all PM-KISAN beneficiaries through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC). As on 05.01.2024, 465.42 lakh new KCC applications have been sanctioned with a sanctioned credit limit of Rs. 5,69,974 crore as part of the drive.

## 5. Fixing  of  Minimum  Support  Price  (MSP)  at  one-and-a  half  times  the  cost  of production

- i. Government has increased the MSP for all mandated Kharif, Rabi and other commercial crops with a return of at least 50 per cent over all India weighted average cost of production from 2018-19.
- ii. MSP for Paddy (common) has increased to Rs. 2,183 per quintal in 2023-24 from Rs. 1,310 per quintal in 2013-14.
- iii. MSP for Wheat increased from Rs. 1,400 per quintal in 2013-14 to Rs. 2,275 per quintal in 2023-24.

## 6. Promotion of organic farming in the country

- i. ParamparagatKrishiVikasYojana  (PKVY)  was  initiated  in  2015-16  to  promote  organic farming in the country. 32,384 clusters have been formed and an area of 6.53 lakh hectare has been covered benefitting 16.19 lakh farmers. In addition, Under

NamamiGangeProgramme 1.23 lakh hectare area covered and under natural farming 4.09 lakh hectare area covered.

- ii. Government also proposes to promote sustainable natural farming systems through the scheme  BhartiyaPrakratikKrishiPadhati  (BPKP).  The  proposed  scheme  aims  at  cutting down cost of cultivation, enhancing farmer's income and ensuring resource conservation and, safe and healthy soils, environment and food.
- iii. Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North East Region (MOVCDNER) has been launched.  379  Farmer  Producer  Companies  have  been  formed  comprising  of  189039 farmers and covering 1,72,966 hectare area.

## 7. Per Drop More Crop:

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme was launched in the year 2015-16 which aims to increase water use efficiency, reducing cost of inputs and increasing productivity at the farm level through Micro Irrigation technologies i.e. drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. So far, an area of 81.87 lakh hectare has been covered under Micro irrigation through the PDMC scheme from the year 2015-16 and central assistance of Rs. 18,893.74 crore has been released.

## 8. Micro Irrigation Fund:

A Micro Irrigation Fund of initial corpus Rs 5,000 crore has been created with NABARD.  In the Budget Announcement for 2021-22, the corpus of the fund is to be increased to Rs.10,000 crores. Projects worth Rs 4,710.96 crore have been approved so far.

## 9. Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)

- i. A new Central Sector Scheme for Formation & Promotion of new 10,000 FPOs launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister on 29th February, 2020 with budget outlay of Rs 6,865 Crore till 202728.
- ii. As on 31.12.2023, 7,774 no. of FPOs have been registered under new FPO scheme.
- iii. Equity Grant of Rs. 129.5 Crore has been released to 2,933 FPOs.
- iv. Credit Guarantee Cover worth Rs. 226.7 Cr. issued to 994 FPOs

10. The National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM ) was launched in 2020 as part of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan with an outlay of Rs. 500.00 crore for the period of 3 years, i.e., 2020-21 to 2022-23, and the scheme has been extended for next three years, i.e., 2023-24 to 2025-26, with the remaining available budget of Rs. 370.00 crore from the allocated budget of Rs. 500.00 crore for the overall promotion and development of scientific beekeeping and to achieve the goal of "Sweet Revolution".

## 11. Agricultural Mechanization :

Agricultural mechanization is extremely vital to modernize agriculture and reduce drudgery of farming operations. During the period from 2014-15 to March, 2023 an amount of Rs.6405.55 crore  have  been  allocated  for  agricultural  mechanization.  15,23,650numbers  of  machines  and equipments have been provided to farmers on subsidy.   23,018 custom hiring centers, 475 hightech hubs and 20,461 farm machinery banks have been established to make available agricultural machines and equipments to the farmers on rental basis. During 2023-24, Rs.252.39 Crore have been released to States for distribution of 37937 nos. of agricultural machinery ,for establishment of 1916 custom Hiring Centres, 41 Hi-Tech Centres and 82 nos. of Farm Machinery Banks.

## 12. Namo Drone Didi:

The Government has also recently approved Central Sector Scheme for providing drones to the Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) with an outlay of Rs. 1261 Crores. The scheme aims to provide  drones  to  15000  selected  Women  SHGs  for  providing  rental  services  to  farmers  for agriculture purpose (application of fertilizers and pesticides). Of the total 15,000 drones, first 500 drones  will  be  procured  by  Lead  Fertilizer  Companies  (LFCs)  in  2023-24,  using  their  internal resources for distribution to selected SHGs. Remaining  14500 drones will be provided under this scheme and Central Financial Assistance @ 80% of the cost of drone and accessories/ancillary charges up to a maximum of Rs. 8.0 lakhs will be provided to the women SHGs  for purchase of drones. The Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) of SHGs may raise the balance amount (total cost of procurement minus subsidy) as loan under National Agriculture Infra Financing Facility (AIF). Interest subvention @ 3% on the AIF loan will be provided to the CLFs. The scheme will help in infusing  advance  technology  in  agriculture  for  improved  efficiency,  enhanced  crop  yield  and reduced cost of operation for the benefit of farmers. The scheme will also provide sustainable business and livelihood support to SHGs and they would be able to earn additional income of at least Rs. 1.0 lakh per annum.

## 13. Providing Soil Health Cards to farmers :

Soil  Health  Card  Scheme  was  introduced  in  the  year  2014-15  to  optimize  usage  of nutrients. The following numbers of cards have been issued to farmers:

i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

Cycle-I (2015 to 2017) - 10.74 crore Cycle-II (2017 to 2019)- 12.19 crore Model Village Programme (2019-20)- 23.71 lakh In the year 2020-21- 11.52 lakh

## 14. Setting up of National Agriculture Market ( e-NAM) extension Platform

- i. 1389  Mandis  of  23  States  and  04  UTs  have  been  integrated  to  e-NAM  platform.  (28 additional  mandis  have  been  integrated  with  e  NAM  which  included  J&K  (6)  Madhya Pradesh (3) Maharashtra (15) Uttrakhand  (4).
- ii. As on 31 st  Dec 2023,  1.76 crore  Farmers &  2.50 Lakh traders have been registered on e-NAM portal.  Total volume  of  8.96  Crore  MT  &  30.99  Crore  numbers  (bamboo,  betel leaves, coconut, lemon & sweet corn) collectively worth approximately Rs. 3.19 lakh crore of trade has been recorded on e-NAM platform.

## 15. Launch of the National Mission for Edible Oils - Oil Palm

A new Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely, National Mission on Edible Oil (NMEO)-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) has been launched during August, 2021 with the aim to enhance the edible oils availability in the country by harnessing Oil Palm area expansion, increasing CPO production and to reduce the import burden on edible oil. The Mission will bring additional area of 6.5 lakh ha under Oil Palm plantation with 3.28 lakh ha in north-eastern states and 3.22 lakh ha in Rest of India with a total outlay of Rs. 11,040 crore in next 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

## 16. KISAN Credit Card (KCC):

Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare is implementing Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS), a Central Sector Scheme, with a view to provide short term Agri-loans  availed  by  farmers  through  KCC  for  their  working  capital  requirements  at concessional rate of interest. Under this scheme, farmers are given KCC loan at subvented interest rate of 7%. For this, at present, interest subvention of @1.5% is being given to financial institutions. Therefore, short term loans for Agriculture and other allied activities including animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries etc. uptoRs. 3.00 lakh is available to farmers at an interest rate of 7% per annum. Additional 3% prompt repayment incentive (PRI) is also given to the farmers for prompt and timely repayment of loans; thus reducing the effective rate of interest to 4% per annum. In case of short term loan availed for allied activities only (other than crop husbandry), the loan amount uptoRs. 2.00 lakh is available at the rate of 7%. Additional 3% PRI is also available on it.

To bring the maximum number of farmers under KCC so that they can get loan at a cheaper rate from institutional banking system, the Government has been running a campaign for Saturation of KCC to farmers since February, 2020 to cover all left over farmers with special focus on PM KISAN beneficiaries.

Under AtmaNirbar Bharat package, a target to cover 2.5 crore farmers with credit flow of about Rs.2.00 lakh crores was set. Special drive was undertaken to provide Kisan Credit Cards to eligible and willing farmers with special focus on PM KISAN beneficiaries. This enabled such farmers to gain access to institutional credit at concessional interest rate. Target to cover 2.5 crore farmers was achieved on 15.10.2021 and as on 05.01.2024, 465.42 lakh new KCC applications have been sanctioned with a sanctioned credit limit of Rs.  5,69,974  crore  as  part  of  the  drive.  Budget  estimate  for  MISS  under  which  KCC scheme operates has been allocatedRs. 23000 crores for the year 2023-24.

A revised KCC Saturation drive i.e. 'GharGhar KCC Abhiyan' has been launched with special focus to saturate PM KISAN beneficiaries. The main objective of this drive is to  mobilise  the  potential  farmers  through  a  special  drive  under  Block  Level  Bankers Committee to saturate PM KISAN beneficiaries with KCC and to enrol maximum number of farmers/PM KISAN beneficiaries under all types of KCC schemes (for Crop cultivation, Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries etc.).

## 17. Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF) :

A one Lakh Crore,Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme was launched with an objective to mobilize a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through incentives and financial support in order to improve agriculture infrastructure in the country. Interest Subvention and Credit Guarantee supports are being provided under Agri Infra Fund.

## 18. Improvement in farm produce logistics, Introduction of Kisan Rail.

Kisan Rail has been launched by Ministry of Railways to exclusively cater to movement of perishable agri-horti commodities. First Kisan Rail was started in July 2020. Till 28 th  February, 2023, 2359 services on 167 routes have been operated.

## 19. MIDH - Cluster Development Programme:

Details  of  physical  progress  under  the  major  components  of  NHM/HMNEH  scheme  of MIDH from 2014-15 to 2023-24 (as on 30.12.2023) is as under:

-  Area Expansion: - An additional area of 13.24 lakh ha. of identified horticulture crops has been covered. Nurseries: - 882 nurseries have been established for production of quality planting material.
-  Rejuvenation:  -  An  area  of  1.44  lakh  ha.  of  old  and  senile  orchards  has  been rejuvenated.
-  Organic Farming: - An area of 52108 ha. been covered under organic practices.
-  Protected Cultivation: - An area of 3.13 lakh ha. has been covered under Protected Cultivation.
-  Water Resources: - 51476 water-harvesting structures have been created.
-  Beekeeping: - 15.94 lakh bee colonies with hives have been distributed.
-  Horticulture Mechanization: -2.65 lakh horticulture mechanization equipment have been distributed.
-  Post-Harvest Management Infrastructures: - 1.17 lakh post-harvest units have been established.
-  Market Infrastructures: - 15522 market infrastructures have been set up.
-  Training  of  Farmers:  -  Under  HRD,  9.31  lakh  farmers  have  been  trained  under various horticulture activities.

## 20. Creation of a Start-up Eco system in agriculture and allied sector

So  far, 1259  Start-ups during FY  2019-20  to 2023-24 have  been selected by different  Knowledge Partners (KPs) and Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) working in agriculture &  allied  sector.    Rs.  83.67 crore  as  grants-in-aid  has  been  released  in  installments   to  the respective KPs & R-ABIs for funding to these Start-ups  under RKVY Agri-startup Programme of Department of Agriculture & FW.

## 21. Achievement in Export of Agri and Allied Agri- Commodities

The country has witnessed emphatic growth in export of agri and allied commodities. As compared to previous year 2021-22, the Agri and allied export has increased from 50.24 billion USD in 2021-22 to 53.15 billion USD in 2022-23 i.e. an increase of 5.79%.

## Ministry of Cooperation

## A.  Making Primary Cooperatives economically vibrant and transparent

1. Model Bye-Laws for PACS making them multipurpose, multidimensional and transparententities : Model Byelaws have been adopted by 31 States/UTs so far.
2. Strengthening  of  PACS  through  Computerization :  Atotalof  62,318 PACS from 28 States/ UTs have been sanctioned under the project. Software is ready and trials have already started in 5,673 PACS in 26 States/ UTs so far.
3. New  Multipurpose  PACS/Dairy/Fishery  Cooperatives  in  uncovered Panchayats : As reported by the States/ UTs, the process for registering 9,961 new PACS/ Dairy/ Fishery cooperative societies in 23 States/ UTs is in various stages.
4. World's  Largest  Decentralized  Grain  Storage  Plan  in  Cooperative sector :  22  States/  UTs  and  National  level  Cooperative  Federations  such  as National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and National Agricultural CooperativeMarketingFederationofIndiaLtd.(NAFED),haveidentified1,711PACS for creation of storage capacity under the Pilot Project. At present, construction is going in 13 PACS of 13 States/ UTs under the Pilot Project.
5. PACS  as  Common  Service  Centers  (CSCs)  for  better  access  toeservices : So far, 24,470 PACS have started providingCSCservicestotheruralcitizenswhichwillalsoresultinincreaseinincome of those PACS at the same time.
6. Formation of new Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) by PACS : Government has allowed 1,100 additional FPOs to be formed.
7. PACS given priority for Retail Petrol/ Diesel outlets : Government has allowed PACS tobe included in the Combined Category 2 (CC2) for allotment of retail  petrol/  diesel  outlets.As  per  information  received  from  Oil  Marketing Companies  (OMCs),  a  total  of  228  PACS  have  applied  online  for  retail petrol/diesel outlets.
8. PACS given permission to convert bulk consumer petrol pumps into retail outlets : 109 PACS from 5 States having wholesale consumer pumps have given consent for conversion into Retail Outlets, out of which 43 PACS have received Letter of Intent (LOI) from the OMCs.
9. PACS eligible for  LPG Distributorship for diversifying  its activities :
10. Government has now allowed PACS to apply for LPG Distributorships.
10. PACS as PM Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra for improving access to generic medicinesatrurallevel :So far, 4,289 PACS/ cooperative societies have applied online forPM JanaushadhiKendras, out of which 2,293 PACS have been given initial approval also. 11. PACS as PradhanMantriKisanSamriddhiKendras (PMKSK): As per the information shared by States/ UTs, 28,648 PACS are functioning as PMKSK so far. 12. Convergence  of  PM-KUSUM  at  PACS  level :  Farmers  associated  with PACS can adopt solar agricultural water pumps and install photovoltaic modules in their farms. 13. PACS to carry out O&M of rural piped water supply schemes (PWS) : AsperinformationreceivedfromStates/UTs,1,381PACShavebeenidentifiedby12S tates/UTstoprovideO&Mservices at Panchayat/ Village level. 14. Micro-ATMs  to  Bank  Mitra Cooperative  Societies for providing doorsteps financial services : As a pilot project, 1,723 Micro-ATMs have been distributed to Bank Mitra cooperative societies in Panchmahal and Banaskantha Districts of Gujarat. 15. RupayKisanCreditCardtoMembersofMilkCooperatives :As a pilot project, 73,503 Rupay  KCC  have  been  distributed in  Panchmahal  and Banaskantha Districts of Gujarat. 16. Formation of Fish Farmer Producer Organization (FFPO) :  NCDC has registered 69 FFPOs in the initial phase. Department of Fisheries, Government of Indiahasfurtherallocatedconversionof1000existingfisheriescooperativesocieties

into FFPOs to NCDC, with an approved outlay of Rs 225.50 crore..

## B.  StrengtheningtheRuralCooperative Banks

17. Cooperative banks have been allowed to make one-time settlement of outstanding  loans,  like  Commercial  Banks: Co-operative  banks,  through board- approved policies, can now provide process for technical write-off as well as settlement with borrowers.

18.

IndividualhousingloanlimitmorethandoubledbyRBIforRuralCo- operative  Banks :  Housing  loan  limit  of  Rural  cooperative  banks  has  been increased to two and a half times to Rs 75 lakh.

19. Rural Co-operative Banks will now be able to lend to commercial real estate/ residential housing sector, thereby diversifying their business :
20. License fee reduced for Cooperative Banks .

21. Monetary  ceiling  doubled  by  RBI  for  Gold  Loan: RBI  has  doubled monetary ceiling  from  Rs.2  lakh  to  Rs.4  lakh,  for  those  UCBs  that  meet  the PSLtargets.

## Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying

- (i) Rashtriya  Gokul  Mission  (RGM)  to  enhance  milk  production  and  productivity  of bovines and to make milk production more remunerative to the farmers.

(ii) National  Programme  for  Dairy  Development  to  create  dairy  infrastructure  for procurement, processing and marketing of milk and milk products.

(iii) For the first time the KCC Scheme is extended for all farmers involved in animal husbandry sector.

- (iv) Animal  Husbandry  Infrastructure  Development  Fund  (AHIDF)  worth  Rs.  15000 crore to facilitate incentivisation of investments in Animal Husbandry sector.
- (v) National Livestock Mission is focusing on enhancing productivity of small ruminants and entrepreneurship Development in livestock sector.

(vi) Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH & DC) to provide assistance for control of  animal  diseases  like  Foot  and  Mouth  Disease,  Brucellosis  and  also  to  provide assistance  to  State  Governments  for  Control  of  other  infectious  diseases  of  livestock. Mobile  Veterinary  Units  are  established  under  the  scheme  to  deliver  quality  livestock health services at farmers doorstep.

## Department of Fisheries

1. Creation  of  New  Ministry  for  Fisheries,  Animal  Husbandry  and  Dairying: Recognizing the immense potential of the Fisheries Sector and for focused and holistic development  of  the  sector  with  fishers  and  fish  farmers'  welfare  at  the  core,  the Government of India created a separate Department of Fisheries in February, 2019 and  this  was  followed  up  by  creation  of  a new  Ministry  of  Fisheries,  Animal Husbandry and Dairying in June, 2019.
2. Highest  ever  investments  in  fisheries  sector: During  last 9 years, the Government of India has stepped up investments in fisheries and aquaculture sector. From  2015, the central  government has approved or announced  cumulative investments to the tune of Rs 38,572 crore . These include:
- a)  Rs. 5,000 crore investment under Blue Revolution Scheme;
- b)  Rs.  7,522  crore  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  Infrastructure  Development  Fund (FIDF);
- c)  Rs. 20,050 crore investment under Pradhan MantriMatsyaSampadaYojana;
- d)  Rs 6,000 crore Sub-scheme under PMMSY, announced in Union Budget 2023-24

The Flagship Scheme Pradhan MantriMatsyaSampadaYojana (PMMSY) is  under implementation  since  FY  2020-21  and  it  is,  by  far,  the  highest  ever  investment  in Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector in the country.

3. Record  National  Fish  Production :  During  the  last  9  years,  the  annual  fish production of India has increased from 95.79 lakh tons (at the end of FY 2013-14) to an all-time record of 175.45 lakh tons in 2022-23.
4. Doubling of Inland and Aquaculture Production :  Fish  production  from  inland fisheries and aquaculture increased from mere 2.18 lakh tons in FY 1950-51 to 131.13 lakh tons in FY 2022-23 which has doubled from 61.36 lakh tons at the end of FY 201314 to 121.12 lakh tons at the end of FY 2021-22.
5. Doubling of Seafood Exports: Indian seafood is exported to 129 countries with largest importer being USA. In fact, the value of the cumulative exports for the 9-year period of FY 2014-15 to FY 2022-23 stood at Rs. 3.41 lakh crore as against Rs 1.20 lakh crore for the 9-year preceding FY 2014-15 i.e. the period FY 2005-06 to 201314.
6. Doubling of Brackish Water Aquaculture Production : The shrimp production of the country increased by 267% from 3.22 lakh tons at  the  end of  FY  2013-14 to a record 11.84 lakh tons (provisional figures) at the end of FY 2022-23.  Similarly, the shrimp exports have more than doubled  with an increase of 123% from Rs.19,368 crore at the end of FY 2013-14 to Rs 43,135 crore at the end of FY 2022-23.
7. Sustained  Growth  Rate  and  Increased  Contribution  of  Fisheries  Sector  in National Gross Value Add (GVA) and Agriculture GVA: The fisheries sector in India has shown a sustained annual average growth rate of 8.61% for the 8-year period from

FY 2014-15 to FY 2021-22 (at constant prices). During eight-year period from FY 201415 to FY 2021-22, the GVA of Fisheries Sector has increased from Rs. 76,487 crore in FY 2013-14 to 1,47,518.87 crore (at constant prices) and from 98,189.64 crore in FY 2013-14 to 2,88,526.19 crore in FY 2021-22 (at current prices). 8. Institutional  Credit  through  Kisan  Credit  Card  (KCC)  for  Fishers  and  Fish farmers: The Government of India extended the KCC facility to fishers and fish famers from  the financial year  FY  2018-19  to  help  them  meet  their  working  capital requirements.  Till  date, 1.70  lakh KCC cards have been issued to fishers  and fish farmers.

Focus on creation of Infrastructure in Fishing Harbours (FHs) and Fish Landing Centres  (FLCs): During  the  last  9  years,  the  Government  of  India  approved  project proposals for construction/modernization of 107 Fishing Harbours and Fishing Landing Centers  under  Blue  Revolution  Scheme,  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF); and Pradhan MantriMatysaSampadaYojana.

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