Lok Sabha Question No. 157 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-22
Subject: Agriculture Reforms and GST
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Shri Prabhakar Reddy Vemireddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.157

## TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, JULY 22, 2024 /31 ASHADHA, 1946 (SAKA)

## AGRICULTURE REFORMS AND GST

## 157. Shri Prabhakar Reddy Vemireddy:

Will the Minister of FINANCE वित्त मंत्री be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is true that there is need for agriculture reforms and support to farmers, if so, the details thereof;

(b) the reasons for imposing 18% GST on some of the agriculture mechanized inputs; and (c) the steps taken/proposed to take to bring down above 18 percent to 0 percent?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

(a):  Agriculture  being a  State  Subject,  the  State  Governments  provide  relief.  However, Government of India supplements the efforts of States through appropriate policy measures and budgetary support and various schemes/ programmes. The various schemes/ programmes of the Government of India for the welfare to make farming more remunerative and make the farmers financially more secure are at Annexure.

(b):  The  GST  rates  and  exemptions  are  notified  on  the  basis  of  recommendations  of  GST Council, which is a constitutional body comprising of members from both the Union and State Governments.

In  its  47 th Meeting, GST Council accepted the recommendation of Group of Ministers on rate rationalization to impose 18% GST on some agriculture machinery to correct the inverted duty structure.

(c):  The  GST  rates  and  exemptions  are  notified  on  the  basis  of  recommendations  of  GST Council, which is a constitutional body comprising of members from both the Union and State Governments. The GST Council has not recommended any change in GST rate.

*******

## Various schemes/ programmes of the Government of India for the welfare to make farming more remunerative and make the farmers financially more secure

## Major achievements of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare since 2014

## 1. Unprecedented enhancement in budget allocation

In the year 2013-14 the budget allocation of Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare was only 21933.50 crore. This has increased by more than 5.26 time to Rs. 115531.79 crore in 2023-24.

## 2. Record food grains production

Food  grain  production  has  increased  from  265.05  million  tonnes  in  2013-14  to  record 328.85  million tonnes in 2023-24(third advance Estimates) production and horticulture production was 352.23 million tonnes (as per 3 rd advance estimates).

| Crops                |   Production (in million tonnes) |
|----------------------|----------------------------------|
| Rice                 |                           136.7  |
| Wheat                |                           112.93 |
| Jowar                |                             4.74 |
| Bajra                |                            10.7  |
| Maize                |                            35.67 |
| Ragi                 |                             1.56 |
| Small Millets        |                             0.43 |
| Barley               |                             1.65 |
| Nutri Cereals        |                            17.41 |
| Nutri/Coarse Cereals |                            54.73 |
| Cereals              |                           304.36 |
| Tur                  |                             3.39 |
| Gram                 |                            11.58 |
| Urad                 |                             2.3  |
| Moong                |                             2.92 |
| Lentil               |                             1.75 |
| Other Kharif Pulses  |                             0.78 |
| Other Rabi Pulses    |                             1.78 |
| Total Pulses         |                            24.49 |
| Total Foodgrains     |                           328.85 |

## 3. Increase in productivity

Comparison of yield between 2013-14 and 2023-24

(Kg/ha)

| Crop             |   2013-14 |   2023-24* |   Absolute Difference (2023-24 over 2013-14) |   Difference (%) |
|------------------|-----------|------------|----------------------------------------------|------------------|
| Rice             |      2416 |       2873 |                                          457 |            18.92 |
| Wheat            |      3145 |       3615 |                                          470 |            14.94 |
| Maize            |      2676 |       3321 |                                          645 |            24.1  |
| Coarse Cereals   |      1717 |       2949 |                                         1232 |            71.75 |
| Total Pulses     |       763 |        907 |                                          144 |            18.87 |
| Total Foodgrains |      2120 |       2525 |                                          405 |            19.1  |
| Total Oilseeds   |      1167 |       1316 |                                          149 |            12.77 |
| Sugarcane        |     70522 |      78749 |                                         8227 |            11.67 |
| Cotton           |       510 |        436 |                                          -74 |           -14.51 |
| Jute             |      2639 |       2795 |                                          156 |             5.91 |

(As per 3 rd advance estimates)

## 4. Fixing of MSP at one-and-a half times the cost of production -

- 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 201819.
- MSP for Paddy (common) has increased to Rs. 2300 per quintal in 2023-24 from Rs. 1310 per quintal in 2013-14.
- MSP for Wheat increased from Rs. 1400 per quintal in 2013-14 to Rs. 2275 per quintal in 202324.

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

A new Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely, National Mission on Edible Oil (NMEO)-Oil Palm (NMEOOP) 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 in Rest of India with a total outlay of Rs. 11,040 crore in next 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26. The major focus of the mission is to build up the farmer's confidence to undertake Oil Palm cultivation, for which a new mechanism of Viability Price (VP) has been formulated which will be declared by Government of India for every oil palm year i.e. 1 st of  November  to  31 st of  October  of  the  next  year.  The  Viability  Price  will  ensure  remunerative returns to insulate the farmers from the volatility in the prices. During the Oil Palm Year (01.11.2021 to  31.10.2022),  the  Committee  had  recommended  the  Viability  Price  for  the  Fresh  Fruit  Bunches (FFBs) of Rs. 10,516 per ton of FFBs. Similarly, the Viability Price for the Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) has been recommended of Rs. 13,652 per ton of FFBs for Oil Year from  01.11.2023 to 31.10.2024 which is Rs. 306 per tonne more than last Palm Year Viability Price i.e. Rs.13346 per ton of FFB.

During the year 2023-24, GoI has approved the funds allocation of the 15 States for the total amount of Rs.99311.36 lakhs as Central share for the Coverage of about 1.38 lakh ha area under Oil

Palm cultivation in the country. Released an amount of Rs. 27766.29 lakhs and achieved about an Area of 46598 ha in Financial Year 2023-24.

GoI has Approved AAP of ICAR- IIOPR, Pedavegi, Andhra Pradesh for implementation of 11 nos R&D projects on Oil Palm for an amount of Rs. 2742.26 lakhs under National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm  (NMEO-OP)  for  the  period  from  2022-23  to  2026-27  and  Central  Agriculture  University  (CAU), Imphal for Establishment of Centre of Excellence -Oil Palm in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram amounting to Rs. 2159.40 lakh for the period 2022-23 to 2025-26. GoI has released Rs.3.24 Cr. during 2023-24.

-  Oil  Palm  Processing  Mills  -  approved  10  Oil  Palm  Mills  for  the  NER.  Arunachal  Pradesh  (2), Assam (6), Mizoram (1) and Nagaland (1).
-  In Arunachal Pradesh- 1 mill of M/s 3F Oil Palm Pvt Ltd. was inaugurated on 9th of March 2024 in Roing (Lower Dibang Valley District), Arunachal Pradesh and another mill by M/s Patanjali Foods Pvt Ltd., at IGC-Niglok (East Siang District) will be started till July 2024.
-  Assam-Land identification for two Palm Oil processing mills is under progress.
-  Mizoram &Nagaland- site earmarked.

## 6. Increase in procurement from farmers

The  procurement  under  PSS  during  the  year  2022-23,  a  quantity  of  40,02,057.73  MT  of  pulses, oilseeds  &  copra  had  been  procured  having  MSP  Value  of  Rs.  22,728.23  crore  and  benefiting 17,27,663 farmers. Further, during the year 2023-24 (as on 03.04.2024), a quantity of 4,38,413.23 MT of oilseeds, pulses & copra has been procured having MSP Value of Rs. 3,434.65 crore benefiting 2,36989 farmers. In addition, during 2024 season as on (03.04.2024), a quantity of 1,468.38 MT of copra has been procured having MSP value of Rs. 17.34 crore benefiting 1130 farmers.

## 7. 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. 3.24 lakh crore has been released so far to more than 11 crore farmers as of now.

8. Pradhan Manti Kisan Mandhan Yojana: 'Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PMKMY)', a central sector scheme, is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for the entry age group of 18 to 40 years with a provision of Rs. 3000/- monthly pension on attaining the age of 60 years, subject to exclusion criteria.

As  on  date,  23,38,720  farmers  have  been  enrolled  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan Mandhan Yojana (PM-KMY).

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

Eight  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  8  Years  of implementation - 62.60 crore farmer applications enrolled and over 17.80 crore (Provisional) farmer applicants  have  received  claims  of  over  Rs.  1,60,838  crore.    During  this  period  nearly  Rs.32,280 crore were paid by farmers as their share of premium against which claims over Rs.1,60,838 crore (Provisional) have been paid to them. Thus for every 100 rupees of premium paid by farmers, they have received about  Rs. 498  as claims.

DigiClaim -  For  transparency  in  calculation  and  payment  of  claims,  Claim  Payment  Module  for payment of claims directly to the farmer's account through National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) using  PFMS  platform  has  been  launched  for  implementation  from  Kharif    2022  season  claims onwards.   All  the  claims  are  now  been  paid  by  insurance  companies  directly  to  farmers  through Digiclaim.

SARTHI Sandbox for Agricultural & Rural Security, Technology & Insurance :  It    is  an  innovative stride  conceived  by  the  Government.    Its  primary  goal  is  to  augment  the  financial  resilience  of farming  community  against  multifaceted  Environmental,  Social  and  Governance  (ESG)  risks  they encounter.  This pioneering platform goes beyond traditional crop insurance, aiming to provide a comprehensive suite of insurance products tailored mainly for farmers and rural India.

KRPH -Krishi Rakshak Portal and Helpline has been launched to create efficient grievance redressal mechanism for farmers under PMFBY.  A dedicated Centralized Toll Free Number 14447  has been launched to facilitate query resolution and grievance redressal at national level.  On registration of complaint, a unique ticket number is created, through which complainant can track the progress of their complaint.  Grievance is required to be resolved within stipulated time frame.  It will also help the State and Central Government to monitor the grievances.

## 10. Institutional credit for agriculture sector

-  Institutional credit target to Agriculture has increased more than 2.5 times since 201415 from ₹  8 lakh crores to ₹  20 lakh crores in 2023-24.
-  Disbursement of easy and concessional crop-loan to help the farmers in accessing shortterm agriculture credit from institutional sources has increased more than two times since 201415 from ₹ 6.4 lakh crore to ₹ 14.79 lakh crore in 2023-24.
-  Interest  subsidy  given  to  farmers  through  KCC  has  increased  2.4  times  since  2014-15 from ₹ 6000 crore to ₹ 14252 crores in 2023-24.
-  The  number  of  accounts  of  Small  and  Marginal  Farmers  availing  agriculture  loans increased from 57% in 2014-15 to 76 % in 2023-24.

Modified  Interest  Subvention  Scheme  (MISS) is  a  Central  Sector  Scheme  (100%  GoI  funded) that  provides  Interest  Subvention  (IS)  of  1.5%  to  various  Financial  Institutions  (Banks,  RRBs, PACS, etc.) for delivering Short-Term Agriculture Operation (STAO) loans at a fixed rate of 7% to farmers through KCC. If the farmer repays the loan within time, he gets a Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI) of  3%,  bringing  his  loan  liability  to  4%  overall  (7%  minus  3%).  It  is  exclusively operated through Kisan Credit Card (KCC).

From 2018-19, GoI introduced the KCC scheme for allied activities i.e. Animal Husbandry and Fisheries to provide short-term working capital loans to Animal Husbandry and Fish farmers. However, interest subvention in these schemes are limited to Rs. 2 lakh only

## 11. Providing Soil Health Cards to farmers

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

-  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- 14.57 lakh
-  In the year 2021-22 - No fund for Soil Samples were allocated to States/UTs.
-  In the year 2022-23 - 36.73 lakh
-  In the year 2023-24 - 36.76 lakh
-  In the year 2024-25 - 1.99 lakh

Regulations for promotion of biostimulants is issued. Nano urea is included under fertilizer control order.

## 12. (A) Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)

The Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is the first comprehensive scheme launched in 2015-16 by  the  Central  Government  as  a  centrally  sponsored  programme  (CSP)  for  promotion  of  organic farming in the country.

-  Total fund released Rs 2078.67 Cr since 2015-16 (as on 30.06.2024).
-  Under PKVY Scheme 38043 clusters (20 ha each) formed, 8.41 lakh ha area covered (including LAC).
-  In addition to above under natural farming fund released for an area of 4.09 lakh ha area to 8 States and Under Namami Gange Programme funds Rs 272.85 crore has been released total  9551 clusters formed and 1.91 lakh ha area covered.
-  A dedicated online web portal- www.Jaivikkheti.in/ has been created to encourage, sale of organic products directly by farmers to consumers farming by directly connecting the consumers. On Jaivikkheti portal total 6.23 lakh farmers have been registered.
-  Various Brands have been developed by the State for marketing of Organic Produce under the PKVY Scheme.
-  Government has initiated Large Area Certification (LAC) programme since 2020-21 to certify large traditional/default organic areas such as hills, islands, tribal or desert belt with no past history of GMO and agro chemical uses.

 Under this programme 14,445 ha area under Car Nicobar and Nancowry group of islands in Union Territory of A&N Islands have been certified to transform entire territory of these islands to organic similar to Sikkim.

 Proposal of 5000 ha area has been received from Ladakh under LAC and fund Rs 11.475 lakh has been released.

-  The entire cultivable land of 2700 ha area of Lakshadweep have been certified organic under Large area certification
-  Under Large area certification fund Rs 96.39 lakh has been released for 60,000 ha area to the State Government of Sikkim

## B) Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) Scheme

The  MOVCDNER  scheme  aims  at  development  of  commodity  specific,  concentrated,  certified organic production clusters in value chain mode to link growers with consumers and to support the development  of  entire  value  chain  starting  from  inputs,  seeds,  certification,  to  the  creation  of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing, marketing and brand building initiative in Northeast Region (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura). The main focus of the scheme is on export of produce. The scheme was approved with an outlay of Rs. 400 crore for three years during the year 2015-16. The scheme has completed two phases of three years each and is now moving forward in Phase III.

-  Total fund released Rs 1150.09 Cr since 2015-16 (as on 30.06.2024).
-  379 FPO/FPCs created covering 189039 farmers and 172966 ha area
-  394 Collection, Aggregation, Grading units, Custom Hiring Centres, 123 processing and pack house entities created under FPO/FPCs and private ownership
-  145 transportation vehicles provided to FPO/FPCs
-  7 states developed their own brands
-  Marketing facilitation of  ginger,  turmeric,  pineapple and  king  chilli  have  been major  success and FPCs have been supported with buyback agreements
-  The export of king chilli sauce, pineapple (canned) and ginger flakes to UK, USA, Australia, France and Swaziland have already started
-  Industry mentorship model with necessary infrastructure development with 3 FPCs
-  Contract production of Ginger and Turmeric with 100% buyback assurance finalized with 3FPOs in Arunachal Pradesh with Parvata Foods
-  Contract cultivation of other high value crops such as Perila, black thai ginger and Calandula flowers is under process.

## C )  National Mission on Natural Farming

 Natural  Farming  is  way  of  chemical  free  farming  based  on  the  livestock  and  locally  available resources with no fertilizer and pesticides. GoI is promoting Natural Farming since 2019-20 through a  sub-scheme  'BhartiyaPrakratikKrishiPaddhati  -  (BPKP)'  under  Paramparagat  KrishiVikasYojna (PKVY) in limited area.

-  Under  BPKP,  4.09  lakh  ha  area  has  been  covered  in  8  states  Andhra  Pradesh,  Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
-  Prime Minister at various platforms has emphasized on the need to promote natural farming as mass  movement.  Hon'ble  Finance  Minister  in  her  budget  speech  also,  emphasized  the  need  for promotion of agrochemical free natural farming.
-  Therefore,  to  achieve  the  vision  of  Hon'ble  PM  and  Budget  Announcement,  a  dedicated centrally sponsored schemes 'National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)' is being launched.
-  Committee of Secretaries (CoS) and Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has recommended the launching of NMNF. A Cabinet Note to roll out NMNF is under process.

##  Mission Objectives:

-  To promote alternative system of farming for freedom from external purchased inputs, cost reduction and thereby increasing income of farmers
-  To popularize integrated agriculture-animal husbandry models based on live stocks and local resources.
-  To collect, validate and document Natural Farming practices s
-  To undertake activities for awareness creation, capacity building, promotion and demonstration of Natural Farming.
-  To create standards, certification procedure and branding for Natural Farming products

##  Details of  NMNF Proposal:

-  Mission mode approach to create mass movement
-  Proposed Outlay-₹ 2184 cr (GoI share- ₹ 1584 cr& State Share- ₹ 897.00 crore
-  To facilitate 1 crore farmers to adopt  Natural Farming
-  To set up 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centers (BRC)
-  Direct funding to Central Agencies with 100% GoI  share
-  At least 100 farmers will be made aware about natural farming through each Farm Field Schools  (FFS).  Out  of  these  15.0  Lakh  farmers  7.5  lakh  farmers  will  be  selected  as  seed farmers.
-  To develop 15000 Model Clusters and more than 7.5 lakh ha area will become model for chemical free farming under Cluster farmers ownership
-  After  the  approval,  perspective  plan  will  be  sought  from  the  Sates/UTs  with  year  wise outlay for taking up Natural Farming
-  Focus will be on identification of farmers practicing livestock-based natural farming system and allow these practitioners' farms to develop as Natural Farming knowledge hubs.

##  Initiatives by DA&FW

-  National Centre of Organic Farming has been reconstituted as National Centre for Organic and Natural Farming (NCONF) and is drawing the standards for certification

 MANAGE is designated as 'Knowledge Partner for Natural Farming Extension' and has started collecting best practices from across the nation.

-  ICAR-KVKs trained more than 3,60,000 farmers, laid demonstrations at 539 KVKs and also initiated research and drafted course curriculum for UG and PG courses. Initiated research through  its  network  of  20  institutes  for  developing  and  validating  NF  cropping  system Packages  of  Practices  (PoPs).Out-Scaling  of  'Natural  Farming'  to  be  undertaken  through 425 KVKs from Rabi Season (Training of 68,000 Farmers & 8,500 Demonstrations per year)

## 13. Agri Infrastructure Fund

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  postharvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through incentives and financial support in order to improve agriculture infrastructure in the country. Following supports are being provided under Agri Infra Fund.

1. Interest  Subvention:  All  loans  under  this  financing  facility  have  interest  subvention  of  3%  per annum up to a limit of ₹ 2 crore. This subvention is available for a maximum period of 7 years. In case of loans beyond ₹ 2 crore, interest subvention is limited up to ₹ 2 crore.

2. Credit  Guarantee:  Credit  guarantee  coverage  is  available  for  eligible  borrowers  from  this financing  facility  under  Credit  Guarantee  Fund  Trust  for  Micro  and  Small  Enterprises  (CGTMSE) scheme for a loan up to ₹ 2 crore. The fee for this coverage will be paid by the Government. In case of FPOs the credit guarantee may be availed from the facility created under FPO promotion scheme of DA&FW.

3.       With the passage of time, the scheme is gaining popularity. Since the inception of AIF, Rs. 43,391 Crores have been sanctioned for 68,200 projects under AIF, out of this total sanctioned amount 33,254 Crores are covered under scheme benefits. These sanctioned projects have mobilized an investment of

Rs 72,656 Crores in agriculture sector. Major  projects  sanctioned  under  AIF include  16,996 Custom Hiring Centres, 14,684 Primary Processing Units, 13,114 Warehouses, 2,928 Sorting & Grading Units, 1,783  Cold  Store  projects  and  around  18,695  other  kinds  of  post-harvest  management  projects  and community farming assets.

## 14. Promotion of FPOs

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 2027-28.

As  on 30 th June  2024, 8,872 no. of FPOs  have  been  registered  under  new  FPO  scheme.  Equity Grant of Rs. 209.9 Crore has been released to 4,135 FPOs . Credit Guarantee Cover worth Rs. 349.28 Cr . issued to 1,542 FPOs.

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

India is currently producing about 1,42,000 Metric Tonnes (MTs) (Final Estimate) of Honey (2022-23). The country has exported 79,929 MT of Honey world-wide during 2022-23.

-  6 World Class State-of-the-Art Honey Testing Labs, 47 Mini Honey Testing Labs, 6 Disease Diagnostic Labs, 08 Custom Hiring centres, 26 Honey Processing Units, 12 Beekeeping Equipment's Unit,  18  Collection-  Branding  &  Marketing  Units,  10  Packaging  and  Cold  storage  have  been sanctioned under National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) till date.
-  424 Ha. land has been covered as Technology Demonstration on Beekeeping and 288 Ha. as  Plantations  of  Bee  friendly  Flora  under  sanctioned  projects  of  National  Beekeeping  &  Honey Mission  (NBHM).  Also,  167  activities  sanctioned  as  Empowerment  of  Women  by  making  SHGs under National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) in various states.
-  A National Centre of Excellence in Beekeeping sanctioned at IIT, Roorkee.
-  As per the demand of beekeeping sector APEDA imposed Minimum Export Price (MEP) of US  $  2,000  (Rs.  1,67,103.20/-)  per  metric  ton  (PMT). i.e., Rs.  167.10  per  Kg  of  Honey.  The announced MEP is imposed till 31st Dec 2024.

Madhukranti  portal  has  been  launched  for  online  registration  traceability  of  source  of  honey  and other  bee  products.  About  14,822  Beekeepers/  Beekeeping  &  Honey  Societies/  Firms/  Companies with 22.39 lakhs honeybee colonies registered with NBB on 'Madhukranti Portal'.

Under the scheme of 'Formation of 10,000 FPOs', 100 FPOs of  Beekeepers/ Honey Producers are allotted  to  TRIFED  (14  nos.),  NAFED  (60  nos.)  and  NDDB  (26  nos.)  for  implementation  of  activities under NBHM. Out of total 100 FPOs allotted to NBB, 97 FPOs of Beekeepers/ Honey Producers have been registered/ formed till date.

## 16. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme launched during 2015-16 aims to increase water use efficiency at the  farm  level  through  Micro  Irrigation  technologies  namely  Drip  and  Sprinkler  Irrigation  systems  to benefit the farmers in the country.

During the year 2015-16 to 2021-22, the PDMC was implemented as a component of Pradhan  Mantri Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana  (PMKSY).  From  the  year  2022-23,  the  PDMC  is  being  implemented  under  the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). Micro Irrigation helps in water saving as well as reducing fertilizer usage through fertigation, labour expenses, other input costs and in overall income enhancement of the farmers.

Under the Scheme, financial assistance of 55% to Small & Marginal farmers and 45% to Other farmers is provided for installation of Micro Irrigation systems. From the year 2015-16 to 2022-23, an area of 78.4 lakh ha has been covered under Micro Irrigation in the Country through the scheme which is about 81% higher as compared to the Pre-PDMC eight years period. This is a significant achievement.  Total of 89.87 lakh ha. area covered till march 2024.

An evaluation study of PDMC Scheme was taken up by the NITI Aayog during 2020-21, which reveals that the scheme is relevant in achieving national priorities such as substantially improving on-farm water use efficiency, enhancing crop productivity, generating employment opportunities etc.; Income of farmers has increased in the range of 10% to 69%; Water use efficiency has improved in the range of 30% to 70% and created direct & indirect employment opportunities.

## 17. Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF)

A Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) of initial corpus Rs 5000 crore has been created with NABARD with major objective  to  facilitate  the  States  in  mobilizing  the  resources  for  expanding  coverage  of  Micro  Irrigation. Under  the  funding  arrangement,  NABARD  lends  to  the  States/UTs  at  3%  lower  interest  rate  than  the corresponding cost of fund mobilized by NABARD from the market. The interest subvention on the loan under MIF is borne by Centre under PDMC.  Projects with loans under MIF worth Rs 4724.74 crore have been  approved  so  far.  Loans  amounting  Rs.  3387.80 crore  has  been  disbursed  to  States.  The  Ministry provides interest subvention on the loan availed by the States which is met from PDMC Scheme. As per the Budget Announcement of the year 2021-22, the corpus of the fund is to be doubled to Rs.10000 crores.

## 18. Rainfed Area Development (RAD)

RAD  is  being  implemented  as  a  component  under  National  Mission  for  Sustainable  Agriculture (NMSA) from 2014-15 in the country. RAD focuses on Integrated Farming System (IFS) for enhancing productivity  and  minimizing  risks  associated  with  climatic  variability.  An  amount  of  Rs.  1796.64 crores has been released & an area of 7.73 lakh hectare has been covered under RAD programme from the year 2014-15 to till date.

## 19. Agricultural Mechanization

Agricultural  mechanization  is  extremely  vital  to  modernize  agriculture  and  reduce  drudgery  of farming operations. During the period from 2014-15 to March, 2024 an amount of Rs.7265.00 crore have been allocated for agricultural mechanization. 18,16,221 numbers of machines and equipments have been provided to farmers on subsidy.   25,527 custom hiring centers, 594 hightech hubs and 23,538 farm machinery banks have been established to make available agricultural machines and  equipments  to  the  farmers  on  rental  basis.  During  2024-25,  Rs.69.99     Crore  have been released to States.

b.    In order to support the efforts of the Government of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi to address air pollution due to crop residue burning, funds amounting to Rs.3340.06  crores have been released to these States during the period from 2018-19 to 2023-24 (as on 31.03.2024), for crop residue management through mechanization interventions.  40,793 Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs)  of  crop  residue  management  machines  have  been  established  and  more  than  2.96  lakh machines have been supplied to these CHCs and individual farmers of these four States.

c.      Looking  into  the  unique  advantages  of  Drone  technologies  in  agriculture,  a  Standard  Crop Specific  Operating  Procedures  (SOPs)  released  the  for  use  of  drones  in  pesticide  and  nutrient application  in  public  domain  on 20.04.2023,  which  provides  concise  instructions  for  effective  and safe operations of drones.

i.      In  order  to  make  this  technology  affordable  to  the  farmers  and  other  stakeholders  of  this sector,  financial  assistance  @  100  %  cost  of  drone  together  with  the  contingent  expenditure  is extended under Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) for its demonstration on the farmer's fields.

ii.    In order the provide agricultural services through drone application, financial assistance @ 40% of the basic cost of drone and its attachments up to a maximum of Rs. 4.00 lakhs, is provided for drone purchase by Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) under Cooperative Society of Farmers, FPOs and Rural  entrepreneurs.  The  agriculture  graduates  establishing  CHCs  are  eligible  to  receive  financial assistance @ 50% of the cost of drone up to a maximum of Rs. 5.00 lakhs. Apart from above, the individual  farmers  are  also  eligible  for  financial  assistance  and  the  Small  and  Marginal  Farmers, SC/ST Farmers, Women Farmers and the Farmers of the North Eastern States are provided financial assistance @ 50% of the cost of drone up to a maximum of Rs. 5.00 lakhs. The other farmers are provided financial assistance @ 40% of the cost of drone up to a maximum of Rs. 4.00 lakhs iii.      From  within  the  funds  of  SMAM, so far an amount of Rs. 141.41 crores have been released towards Kisan drone promotion, which include purchase of 317 Drones for their demonstration in 79070 hectares of land and supply of 527 drones to the farmers on subsidy and also supply of 1595 drones to the CHCs for providing drone services to the farmers on rental basis.

## 20. Setting up of E-NAM extension Platform

The Department has integrated 1389 mandis with e-NAM across 23 States &4 UTs.

As on 30 th June 2024, 1.77 crore Farmers & 2.59 Lakh traders have been registered on e-NAM portal. Total volume of 9.94 Crore MT & 36.39 Crore numbers (bamboo, betel leaves, coconut, lemon & sweet corn) collectively worth approximately Rs. 3.59 lakh crore of trade has been recorded on eNAM platform.

## 21. 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 agrihorti commodities. First Kisan Rail was started in July 2020. Till 28 th February, 2023, 2359 services on 167 routes have been operated.

## 22. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) :

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

-  Area Expansion: - An additional area of 13.79 lakh ha. of identified horticulture crops has been covered.
-  Nurseries: - 905 nurseries have been established for production of quality planting material.
-  Rejuvenation: - An area of 1.48  lakh ha. of old and senile orchards has been rejuvenated.
-  Organic Farming: - An area of 52259 ha. been covered under organic practices.
-  Protected Cultivation: - An area of 3.04 lakh ha. has been covered under Protected Cultivation.
-  Water Resources: - 54630  water-harvesting structures have been created.
-  Beekeeping: - 16.30 lakh bee colonies with hives have been distributed.
-  Horticulture  Mechanization:  -2.73  lakh  horticulture  mechanization  equipment  have  been distributed.
-  Post-Harvest Management Infrastructures: - 1.27 lakh post-harvest units have been established.
-  Market Infrastructures: - 15923 market infrastructures have been set up.
-  Training  of  Farmers:  -  Under  HRD,  9.73  lakh  farmers  have  been  trained  under  various horticulture activities.

Allocation  and  release  under  MIDH  since  2014-15  including  the  current  financial  year  (2023-24)  is  as under: -

(Rs. in crore)

| Year    |   Allocation (BE) |   Allocation (RE) |   Release |
|---------|-------------------|-------------------|-----------|
| 2014-15 |           2263    |           1990.07 |   1958.73 |
| 2015-16 |           2000    |           1769.59 |   1699.42 |
| 2016-17 |           1620    |           1660    |   1495.72 |
| 2017-18 |           2329.13 |           2198.63 |   2034.63 |
| 2018-19 |           2546.24 |           2108.07 |   2004    |
| 2019-20 |           2209.57 |           1551.55 |   1314.88 |
| 2020-21 |           2160.25 |           1511.92 |   1372.4  |
| 2021-22 |           2249.78 |           1509.76 |    954.37 |
| 2022-23 |           1914.38 |           1100    |   1199.33 |
| 2023-24 |           1965.98 |           1578.47 |   1486.67 |

-  Indian  horticulture  sector  contributes  about 33%  to the  agriculture  Gross  Value  Added  (GVA) making  very  significant  contribution  to  the  Indian  economy.  Apart  from  ensuring  nutritional security of the nation, it provides alternate rural employment opportunities, diversification in farm activities, and enhanced income to farmers.
-  Country's  current  horticulture  production  has  reached  to  350  MT  which  is  highest  ever production till date. It has now surpassed the estimated food grain production of 330 MT.
-  India has emerged as world leader in the production of a variety of fruits like Mango, Banana, Guava,  Papaya,  Sapota,  Pomegranate,  Lime  &Aonla  and  vegetables  like  Onion,  Okra,  Carrot, Potato & Tomato etc.
-  The Nation has maintained its dominance in the production of spices, coconut and cashewnut. Among the new crops, kiwi, gherkins, kinnow, date palm and oil palm have been successfully

introduced for commercial cultivation in the country.

-  Launch  of  Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture  (MIDH)  has  spurred  the production and productivity of horticultural crops. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched during 2014-15 for promoting holistic growth of horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo.
-  Under MIDH, 53 Centre of Excellences have been established under bilateral cooperation with Israel & Netherlands and through Research Institutes for quality planting material production, technology demonstration & adoption.
-  To  leverage  geographical  specialization  of  horticulture  clusters  and  promote  integrated  and market-led  development  MoA&FW  has  identified  55  horticulture  clusters,  of  which  12  have been selected for the pilot phase of the Cluster Development Programme.
-  To boost the availability of quality planting material in the country and to become self-reliant in supply of disease free quality planting material a 'Clean Plant Program' has been announced by Hon'ble Financial Minister in 2023. The CPP initiative shall bring in Certification and Traceability in the planting material supply chain and make India self-sustainable in production and supply of Quality Planting Material of high value Horticulture plants.
-  There are numerous success stories in the field of Horticulture for example, Banana production in  Maharashtra  &  Tamil  Nadu;  Guava  &  Tomato  in  Chhattisgarh;  Pomegranate  &  Mango  in Gujarat; Pineapple in Nagaland; Kiwi in Arunachal; Orchids in Sikkim; Off season vegetables in Uttarakhand etc.

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

So  far,  1708  Start-ups  working  in  agriculture  &  allied  sector  have  been  selected  during  FY 2019-20 to 2023-24 by different Knowledge Partners (KPs) and Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs).   Rs. 122.50  crore  as  grants-in-aid  has  been  released  in  installments  to  the  respective  KPs  &  R-ABIs  for funding to these selected start-ups under RKVY Agri-startup Programme of Department of Agriculture & FW.

Department of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare organised a two day Agri-Startup Conclave and KisanSammanSammelan on 17 & 18 October, 2022 at IARI, Mela Ground, Pusa, New Delhi. More than 13,500 farmers and 1500 agri-start-ups from across the country participated in the said event. Over 300 agri-start-ups working in different spheres of agriculture & allied sectors showcased their business idea there. This event was inaugurated by Hon'ble PM and he also interacted with the farmers and agri-startups .

The  objective  of  this  event  was  to  showcase  the  role  played  by  agri-start-ups    in  different dimensions  of  agriculture  processes  &  produces,  agri-machineries,  agri-inputs,  innovation  in  agri technologies and various farmer friendly practices to the farmers. Besides, senior scientists, agricultural experts, extension workers, policy makers, govt. officials also participated to share their experience with the farmers in large numbers across the country in the above conclave.

The  event  offered  an  opportunity  to  agri-start-ups  to  network  with  stakeholders  and  markets  their innovations  and  interacts  and  seeks  funding  from  investors  to  scale  up  their  business.  This  event provided an opportunity to start-ups to learn from their peer start-ups and shared ideas in supporting the  farmers.  The  event  was  envisioned  to  create  a dialogue  and  accelerate  innovations  at  a  national level for start-ups in the agriculture and allied sectors to support farmers.

- I. RashtriyaKrishiVikasYojana (RKVY) ( DPR) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme started in the year 2007-08. Under this scheme, funds are released to the State Governments as Grants-in-Aid on the basis of projects in agriculture & allied sectors approved in the State Level Sanctioning Committee Meeting (SLSC) headed by the Chief Secretary of the concerned State, which is the empowered body on the matter. This scheme provides autonomy and flexibility to State Govts to devise and implement the projects as per its priority, need , agro climatic conditions etc  in multi sectoral activities .
- II. During the year 2014-15 to 2023-24, State Governments, keeping in view their priorities, have  approved  approx.  9500  project  proposals  for  implementation  under  DPR  component  of RKVY in wide ranging sectors.  Sector wise details in this regard are given below.

Horticulture (1380 of projects), Agriculture Mechanization (477 of projects), Crop Development (869 of projects), Marketing and Post Harvesting (350 of projects), Extension (355 of projects), Fertilizer & INM (123 of projects), Innovative Programme & Training Capacity (412 of projects), Integrated  Pest  Management(175  of  projects),  Micro-Irrigation  (293  of  projects),  Natural Resource  Management  (397  of  projects),  Organic  Farming  and  Bio-fertilizer  (179  of  projects), Seed (524 of projects),Agriculture research & infrastructure   (1136 of projects),Sericulture (271 of projects),Animal  Husbandry  (1033  of  projects),    Dairy  Development  (346  of  projects),  Fisheries (717 of projects) , Cooperative and Cooperation (167 of projects)etc

Critical  infrastructure  such  as  State  Seed  Farms,  Soil  and  Fertiliser  Testing  Labs,  nurseries    etc have received substantial support under RKVY.

- III. During  the  year  2014-15  to  2023-24,  Govt  of  India  released  around  Rs.  33,500  crore under RKVY (DPR) to State Governments for implementation of the projects.

## 24. 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 2022-23, the Agri and allied export has increased from 53.15 billion USD in 2022-23 to 48.78  billion  USD  in  2023-24  i.e.  a  decrease  of  8.23%.   The  major  commodities  which  posted significant growth as compared to previous year have been Rice Basmati 21.92% (4787.65 to 5837.13 Million USD), buffalo Meat 17.11% (3193.69 to 3740.16 Million USD), Spices12.17% (3785.36 to 4245.99 Million  USD), cotton  raw  incld.  Waste 55.13%  (781.43 to 1115.49 Million  USD), Fresh Fruits 32.46% (864.62 to 1145.24 Million USD), misc processed items 37.88% (1421.64 to 1652.22 Million USD) etc."

## 25. DARE/ICAR achievements for climate resilience in agriculture

The  ICAR-DARE  project  on  'National  Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient  Agriculture'  (NICRA)  aims  to minimize the climatic  change  impacts  on  agriculture  and  allied  sectors  through  strategic  research  on adaptation  and  mitigation,  demonstration  of  technologies  at  farmers'  fields,  and  creating  awareness among farmers and other stakeholders. The thrust areas of strategic research include identifying most vulnerable  districts/regions  to  climate  change,  evolving  crop  varieties  and  management  practices  for adaptation  and  mitigation,  assessing  climate  change  impacts  on  livestock,  fisheries  and  poultry,  and identifying adaptation strategies. Significant achievements of ICAR towards bringing climate resilience to farm  sector  during  2014-23  are  highlighted  below:  ·  In  total,  1890  climate  resilient  crop  varieties including 893 of cereals, 319 of oilseeds, 338 of pulses, 103 of forage crops, 182 of fibre crops, 45 of sugar  crops,  and  10  of  other  crops  were  developed.·  Sixty-eight  climate  resilient  technologies  were demonstrated  in  446  villages  on  15857  farmers'  fields  during  2014-23.  In  addition,  five  new  climate resilient  technologies  were  developed  during  2022-23.  ·  Established  Climate  resilient  villages  in  151 vulnerable  districts  involving  1  lakh  farm  families.  ·  88  biocontrol  agents,  31  biopesticides  and  41 biofertilizers  were  documented and circulated. · Standardized drip fertigation schedules for 15 crops and cropping systems for achieving higher water and nutrient use efficiency. · Developed a Mobile App for  accessing  information  on  risk  and  vulnerability  at  district  level  for  adaptation  planning.  ·  During 2014-23, total 53 multi- enterprise integrated farming system (IFS) models were developed for small and marginal farmers. The models have potential to enhance the annual farm income to the tune of Rs. 3.6 lakhs  per  hectare.  ·  Updated  450  District  Agriculture  Contingency  Plans  that  provide  contingency measures  and  technological  solutions  for  minimizing  the  impact  of  weather  aberrations.  Twentyfour district drought proofing action plans were also developed for Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan states.  ·  Climate  change  research  facilities  such  as  high  through-put  phenotyping  platforms,  free  air temperature  elevation  (FATE),  carbon  dioxide  and  temperature  gradient  tunnels  (CTGC),  rainout shelters, animal calorimeter, shipping vessel, flux towers and satellite data receiving station etc. have been established and are being used to study the impact of elevated carbon dioxide and temperature on crops, livestock, fisheries, soil, water, pests and diseases.

## 26. Measures taken for promotion of millets

The  International  Year  of  Millets  (IYM)  2023,  declared  by  the  UNGA  in  2021,  has  witnessed significant  achievements  under  the  proactive  approach  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers Welfare. Some of the major initiatives taken for the promotion of millets and achievements made are as follows;

- I. Production Growth: Millet production has surged by 25% over the last five years, reaching 172 Lakh MT from 137 Lakh MT (2018-19 to 2022-23). In the past year alone, there has been an 8% increase.
- II. Productivity Improvement: Productivity  has  seen  a  remarkable  increase,  growing  from  1093 Kg/ha to 1364 Kg/ha, marking a 25% growth between 2018 and 2023.
- III. Task Force Committees: Six task force committees have been established to address gaps and challenges in the millets value chain. Reports have been submitted, and actions are underway with the involvement of various research institutes.
- IV. Seed Hubs: To support farmers, 25 seed hubs have been established in collaboration with ICAR, ensuring the availability of high-quality seeds of improved millet varieties.
- V. Sub-Mission on NutriCereals: The sub-mission on nutri-cereals under NFSM  is  now implemented  across  all  districts  of  28  states  and  2  union  territories,  further  boosting  millet production.
- VI. Seed  Minikits: In  2023-24,  over  20  lakh  millets  seed  minikits  of  newly  released  high-yielding varieties/hybrids have been allocated to major millet-growing states.
- VII. State  Millet  Missions: Thirteen  states  have  launched  Millet  Missions  &  initiatives,  aiming  to promote millet cultivation and its products. More states are in the process of rolling out similar initiatives.
- VIII. One District One Product: Millet and its products have been identified as ODOP in 19 districts across 10 states, emphasizing local specialization.
- IX. Brands Supported: Under PMFME, three brands have been supported to promote millet-based products - Somdana and Bhimtadi in Maharashtra and Seemi in Karnataka.
- X. Policy Measures: Guidelines for the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for millet-based products were notified in June 2022. Additionally, millets were renamed as Shree Anna in the Budget  of  2023-24,  and  the  Indian  Institute  of  Millets  Research  (IIMR)  was  declared  as  the Global Centre of Excellence.
11.  Inclusion of millets under PoshanAbhiyan and revision of guidelines for increased procurement under TPDS, Mid-day-meal, and ICDS.
12.  30%  millets  (Shree  Anna)  have  been  proposed  to  be  included  in  the  meals  of  personnel  of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
13.  Procurement of 7.37 lakh tonnes of millets during the kharif marketing season of 2022-23.
- XI. Awareness generation:

Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), has undertaken a comprehensive array of initiatives to promote awareness about millets during the International Year of Millets (IYM) in 2023. These  efforts  encompass  events,  exhibitions,  collaborations, and  policy changes  across  various ministries, departments, and state governments. Key highlights include:

- i. Outreach & Events:
2.  Numerous  events  and  activities,  engaging  stakeholders  across  the  millet  value  chain, have reached an estimated 22.56 crore persons at the national and international stages
3.  Participation in Dubai Expo showcasing millet products and startups
4.  Millets displayed at SurajkundMela, AAHAR, and International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) events
5.  Special millet luncheons hosted for foreign ambassadors, Members of Parliament, and farmers
6.  Participation  in  key  international  events  and  expos,  such  as  Saveurs&  Métiers  Trade Show, Millet Food Festival in Nigeria, and Gulfood 2023
7.  Participation in the ASEAN-India Millet Festival 2023 and hosting the event in New Delhi and Jakarta, Indonesia.
8.  Millet  festivals  and  exhibitions  for  G20  leaders'  spouses  and  first  ladies  at  the  IARI Campus, PUSA
- ii. International Collaborations:
10.  USD  500,000  contribution  to  the  Food  and  Agriculture  Organization  (FAO)  for  the International Year of Millets, 2023
- iii. High level conferences and global recognition:
12.  Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference inaugurated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, at IARI Pusa campus
13.  Opening ceremony of IYM at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, attended by a delegation led by Union Minister of State, SushriShobhaKarandlaje
14.  Showcasing  IIMR  as  a  global  center  for  excellence  at  the  G20  Agriculture  Ministers meeting in Hyderabad for the G20 meeting.
- iv. Promotion in educational institutions and public spaces:
16.  Inclusion of millets in the canteen and hostel food menus of schools, colleges, IIMs, NITs and AIIMS.
17.  Millet menus on trains and e-tickets, along with the introduction of the IYM logo by the Ministry of Railways.
18.  Vending machines of millet-based products installed in 24 Ministries/ Departments of Central Government basis an MoU between DA&FW and NAFED.
- v. Public awareness campaigns:
20.  Special episodes and discussions on DD Kisan's show VicharVimarsh
21.  Public service announcements across airports, airlines, railway stations, and trains
22.  Preparation of a short video film to be displayed in cinema theatres during compulsory time
- vi. Culinary training and exhibitions:
24.  Culinary training sessions for chefs associated with paramilitary forces and departmental canteens
25.  Millet  festivals,  exhibitions,  and  culinary  training  across  various  venues,  including Parliament Annexe and Civil Services Officers Institute.

## 27. Sub-Mission on Seeds & Planting Materials (SMSP).

Sub-Mission on Seeds & Planting Materials (SMSP) has implemented from the year 2014-15 to promote production and multiplication of quality seeds of agricultural crops, so that the required quantities of seeds could be made available to farmers in the country.

-  Under  Seed  Village  Programme,  6.85  lakh  no.  of  Seed  Villages  created,  1649.26  lakh  quintals  of quality seeds produced and total beneficiaries stand at 2.85 crore.
-  The  funds  has  been  released  to  the  States/implementing  agencies  for  creating  Seed  Processing Capacity of 13.70 lakh Quintals & Seed Storage Capacity of 22.59 lakh Quintals.
-  The  financial  assistance  provided  to  the  States  to  setup  517  no.  of  Seed  Processing-cum-storage godown Units each of 500 MT. capacities at Gram Panchayat level to create total 25.85 lakh qtls. seed processing capacity and 25.85 lakh qtls. seed storage capacity during the year 2017-18 to 2019-20.
-  Under  the  National  Seed  Reserve  29.68  lakh  qtls.  of  various  seeds  of  short  and  medium  duration varieties  have  been  maintained  to  meet  the  requirement  of  Seeds  to  the  farmers  during  natural calamities and unforeseen conditions like floods, drought etc.
-  The financial assistance has provided for 67 No. of Seed Testing Labs (STLs), renovation of 34 No. of STLs, 14 DNA Finger Printing Labs, 07 Specialized Seed Health Labs, 42 Grow-Out Test Farms/ Green House Facilities and various Seed Certification Agencies for Staff Cost, Travelling Allowance and Office Automation etc. for Strengthening of Seed Quality Control in the Country.

## Other Achievements of Seeds Division

-  The  foundation  stone  for  Plant  Authority  Bhawan  was  laid  by  Hon'ble  Agriculture  Minister  on 22.07.2021.
-  The  PPV&FR  Authority  organised  first  Global  Symposium  on  Farmers'  Rights  from  12-15  September, 2023 wherein Awards/ Rewards/ Recognition was given for outstanding work to various farmers across the country. Further, the Plant Authority Bhawan  was  inaugurated  by Hon'ble President Ms. DraupudiMurmu".
-  A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed on 02.08.2017 between DA&FW and International Rice Research  Institute,  Manila  regarding  setting  up  of  a  regional  centre  of  IRRI  (IRRI  South  Asia  Regional Centre) in  Varanasi  that will  provide  a  base  for  the  operations  of  IRRI  in  the  service  of  India  and  the

region  for  the  minimum  of  a  decade,  which  can  be  further  extended  on  a  mutual  agreement  basis. Accordingly, the MoA for continuing the activities in Phase-II was signed on 12.07.2022.

-  Indian  Seed  Certification  Working  Manual  has  prepared  to  achieve  uniformity  in  the  work  of certification of seeds by certification agencies to ensure availability of quality seeds to farmers across the country.
-  Organized 9 th Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of FAO in India during 19 th 24 th September, 2022 preceded by two days of regional and inter-regional consultations first time in the History. 426 participants from 121 Countries (physical) and 30 participants from 30 Countries (online) as well as about 250 Indian officials were participated.
-  Amendments in Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the Rules 2004 and Regulations accordingly, exempted plant varieties registered and rights granted under PPV&FR Act, 2001, revise the definition of farmers varieties, biological resources, research, exemption of crop species listed in Annex-1 of the plant Treaty, declaration of seeds and planting materials as NTC under section 40 of the BD Act etc.
-  For the financial year 2022-23, National Seeds Corporation Ltd. has decided to give dividend of Rs. 33.78 Cr to the Govt. of India (5% of networth).

## Seeds Availability

-  As reported by the States, the availability of certified/quality seeds across the country has increased from 351.77 lakh qtls. in 2014-15 to 508.60 lakh qtls. in during the year 2023-24.
-  The  availability  of  certified/quality  seeds  is  assessed  at  193.52  lakh  qtls.  against  the requirement of 185.84 lakh qtls. for the Kharif- 2024 across the country

## Seed Traceability

-  The DA&FW, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer's Welfare, Govt. of India is working on Centralized Online System  for  Seed  Traceability  Project  for  effective  monitoring,  efficiency  and  transparency  in  seed traceability.
-  Hon'ble  Agriculture  Minister,  Govt.  of  India  has  already  launched  1 st phase  of  Seed  Authentication, Traceability & Holistic Inventory (SATHI) portal - Seed Traceability for effective monitoring, efficiency and transparency covering Seed chain from Nucleus-Breeder-Foundation-Certified Seed on 19 th April, 2023.
-  The  20  States  (Maharashtra,  Assam,  Punjab,    Odisha,  Rajasthan,  Chhattisgarh,  Uttarakhand,  Jammu, Kashmir, Karnataka have done complete operation of multiple seasons on the SATHI, some of the new on-boarded  states  are  Himachal  Pradesh,  Jharkhand,  Sikkim,    West  Bengal,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Puducherry) while remaining states are on the process to join from next season.
-  The Phase-II of SATHI portal-Seed Supply Chain Management (Inventory) is in progress. The trial run has successfully conducted in some States (Uttrakhand, Maharashtra and Punjab).
-  Cotton Seeds Price (Control) Order (CSPCO), 2015

In  order  to  provide  an effective system for fixation of a uniform maximum price and to ensure the availability  of  Bt.  Cotton  hybrid  seeds  to  farmers  at  fair,  reasonable  and  affordable  prices,  the Government of India issued a Cotton Seeds Price (Control) Order (CSPCO), 2015 on 07.12.2015 under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Accordingly, the DA&FW is fixing the maximum sale price  of  Bt.  Cotton  seed  every  year. Accordingly,  the  price  of  seeds  of  Bt.  Cotton  has  been  fixed  at Rs.635/- for BG-I and for BG-II, Rs.864/- for a packet of 450 grams for the year 2024.

##  Notification of New Varieties Crops

Total 2,593 varieties of Agricultural and 638 varieties of Horticultural crops have been notified during the years 2014-15 to 2023-24.

## 28. National Bamboo Mission

1.  The restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was launched during 2018-19 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) subsequent to the historical  amendment  of  the  Indian  Forest  Act  during  2017  to  exclude bamboo out from the definition of tree. Resultant to this historic amendment, bamboo grown in the nonforest area is out of the scope of regulations on the forest produces. During the year 2022-23 the NBM has been merged with Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) scheme.
2. The  restructured  National  Bamboo  Mission  (NBM)  primarily  focuses  on  the  development  of complete  value  chain  of  bamboo  sector  to  link  growers  with  consumers  starting  from  planting material, plantation, creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing marketing, micro, small  &medium enterprises, skilled manpower and brand building initiative in a cluster approach mode. Presently the scheme is being implemented in 24 States/UTs.
3. Details of Financial progress under restructured NBM (2018-19 to 2024-25) (as on 30.06.2024) is as under:

(Rs. In crore)

| Year    |     BE | RE     | Expenditure   | Expenditure         |
|---------|--------|--------|---------------|---------------------|
| 2018-19 | 300    | 153.30 | 150.03        | 150.03              |
| 2019-20 | 150    | 87.00  | 84.51         | 84.51               |
| 2020-21 | 110    | 94.00  | 75.21         | 75.21               |
| 2021-22 | 100    | 70.00  | 20.58         | 20.58               |
| 2022-23 |  65    | 40.00  | 11.63 50.38   | NBMmerged with MIDH |
| 2023-24 |  95    | 60.00  |               | NBMmerged with MIDH |
| 2024-25 | 105.76 | -      | 02.88         | NBMmerged with MIDH |

4.  Details of Physical Progress under the major components of restructured NBM from (2018-19 to 2024-25 (as on 30.06.2024) is as under:

Bamboo Nurseries:- 404  Nos.  of  Bamboo  nurseries  including  14  accredited  nurseries  have  been established.

Bamboo Plantation:- 58981 hectare non-forest area has been covered under bamboo Plantation.

Promotion  of  bamboo  treatment  and  preservation:-  104  Nos.  of  bamboo  treatment  and preservation units have been set up.

Product  Development  and  Processing:  -  516  Nos.  of  Product  Development  and  Processing  units have been set up.

Infrastructure for Bamboo Market: -122 Nos. of Infrastructures for Bamboo Market etc. have been created.

Skill Development: -23708 persons have been provided training under the scheme.

Awareness Campaign: - Around 316 Nos. of Workshop/ seminar/ trade fairs/ exhibition carried out.

## 29. Capacity Building of Extension Functionaries:

Under  Central  Sector  Scheme  of  Agri-clinics  and  Agri-business  Centres  (AC&ABC)  which  aims  at providing  self-employment  opportunities  for  unemployed  Agriculture  Graduates,  MANAGE  has trained 56425 unemployed Agriculture Graduates and established 26209 Agri.Ventures.

Under  Diploma  in  Agricultural  Extension  Services  for  Input  Dealers  (DAESI)  Programme,  which  is Central  Sector  Scheme  aiming  at  transforming  Input  Dealers  into  Para-Extension  Professionals, MANAGE has trained 89104 Input Dealers in scientific Agricultural Practices.

## 30. Capacity Building of Farmers in different thematic areas under ATMA Scheme:

Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is being implemented in 739 districts of 28 states & 5 UTs in the country. The scheme promotes decentralized farmer-friendly extension system in the country. The objectives of ATMA Scheme is to support State Government's efforts and to make available latest agricultural technologies and good agricultural practices in different thematic areas of agriculture  and  allied  areas  to  farmers  through  different  extension  activities  viz;  Farmers  Training, Demonstrations,  Exposure  Visits,  Kisan  Mela,  Mobilization  of  Farmers  Groups  and  organizing  Farm Schools etc.

Since 2014 to 2024 (up to 30 th June, 2024), an amount of Rs.5487.93 crore (Central Share) has been released to  the  States/UTs  including  MANAGE  to  carry  out  extension  activities  and  3,85,52,884 farmers  have  been  benefited  through  different  extension  under  the  Scheme.  Year-wise  Physical  and Financial progress under ATMA Since 2014-15 onwards is given below: -

(Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No. | Year                       |   Funds Released to States/UTs (Central Share) |   Number of farmers Benefitted |
|-----------|----------------------------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|         1 | 2014-15                    |                                         522.98 |                        3582521 |
|         2 | 2015-16                    |                                         406.69 |                        3246074 |
|         3 | 2016-17                    |                                         413.41 |                        3506439 |
|         4 | 2017-18                    |                                         591.28 |                        5143336 |
|         5 | 2018-19                    |                                         570.83 |                        4804234 |
|         6 | 2019-20                    |                                         595.28 |                        3825079 |
|         7 | 2020-21                    |                                         624.88 |                        3526869 |
|         8 | 2021-22                    |                                         553.71 |                        3238772 |
|         9 | 2022-23                    |                                         475.87 |                        4011879 |
|        10 | 2023-24                    |                                         632.9  |                        3660589 |
|        11 | 2024-25 (up to 30-06-2024) |                                         100.1  |                           7092 |

31. Agristack
2.  For better planning, monitoring, policy making, strategy formulation and smooth implementation of schemes a federated architecture is being developed.
3.  To  create  a  coherent  Digital  Agriculture  Ecosystem,  to  improve  the  income  and  welfare  of farmers and to make Indian Agriculture Sector achieve higher levels of efficiency through valueadded  services  across  agriculture  lifecycle,  better  planning  and  implementation  of  Schemes, leveraging  Industry  and  start-ups,  roping  in  emerging  technologies  and  federated  database  of farmers  that  is  based  on  land  records.  The  design  and  development  of  IDEA  Blueprint  involves detailed  work  involving  experts  in  the  areas  like  the  agriculture  domain,  information  technology and program planning.
4.  AgriStack architecture has the following foundational layers: -
5.  Core registries
6.  Base databases
7.  Farmers Database: Farmers ID linked with land records
8.  Geo-referencing of plots
9.  Crop Survey, Crop planning and
10.  Soil Mapping, Soil Fertility
11.  Unified Farmers Service Interface for state.
12.  Data Exchange

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