Agriculture is Prime Focus

According to the Economic Survey 2022-23, the performance of the agriculture and allied sector has been buoyant over the past several years, with private investment in agriculture increasing to 9.3 per cent in 2020-21.

Institutional Credit to the Agricultural Sector continued to grow to 18.6 lakh crore in 2021-22. Foodgrain production in India saw sustained increase and stood at 315.7 million tonnes in 2021-22.

To boost the growth of the agriculture sector, the government has announced several initiatives and funds in the Union Budget 2023-24 which was presented by Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister in the parliament on February 1, 2023. The new initiatives announced in the budget such as Atmanirbhar Horticulture Clean Plant Programme, Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture and Digitisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies will help the growth of the agriculture sector in the upcoming year.

Congratulating the Finance Minister and her team for a historic budget, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked that the first budget in the Amrit Kaal of India has established a strong base to fulfil the aspirations and resolutions of a developed India. And, this budget will make cooperatives a fulcrum of the development of the rural economy.

The government, he continued, has made the world's largest food storage scheme in the co-operative sector. An ambitious scheme to form new primary cooperatives has also been announced in the budget. This will expand the area of milk and fish production along with farming, farmers, animal husbandry and fishermen will get better prices for their produce.

Emphasising the need to replicate the success of digital payments in the agriculture sector, the Prime Minister said that this budget comes with a big plan for digital agriculture infrastructure.