Nirmala Sitharaman Press Conference LIVE Updates: May 15, 2020
Hon’ble Union Finance Minister is likely to announce relief measures for agriculture and related activities.
Government is actively discussing raising states’ borrowing limit for FY 2020-21. Increasing the borrowing limit may be part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Sectors covered in tranche 3: Agriculture and allied activities including fishery, animal husbandry and food processing.
FM to announce 11 relief measures today:
8 measures related to infrastructure such as storage capacities
3 measures related to governance and administrative reforms
Steps for agriculture during COVID-19:
MSP purchases worth Rs 74,300 crore
PM Kisan Samman Yojna payments made worth Rs 18,700 crore
Cleared PM Fasal Bhima Yojna with Rs 6,400 crore
Numerous steps are taken for animal husbandry such as interest subvention, and provided liquidity worth Rs 5,000 crore.
Rs 1 lakh crore for aggregators, FPOs, agriculture entrepreneurs and startups for the development of cold chain and post-harvest management.
Rs 10,000 crore allotted to form Micro Food Enterprises (MFE), which will benefit two lakh MFEs on a cluster-based approach.
Rs 10,000 crore to boost local products for global sale
Launching Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampadha Yojana (PMMSY) with Rs 20,000 crore. This will ensure employment to over 55 lakh people and help double the exports to Rs 1 lakh crore.
To ensure 100% vaccination for around 53 crore animals, the National Animal Disease Control Programme will receive Rs.13,343 crore.
To support private investment in dairy processing and cattle feed infrastructure, the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund will be created and receive Rs 15,000 crore.
National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB) will receive Rs 4,000 crore to promote herbal cultivation in 10 lakh hectares.
Rs 5,000 crore will be allocated to develop beekeeping activities. This will help 2 lakh beekeepers.
TOP to TOTAL Initiative: Extending “Operation Greens” from tomatoes, onions, and potatoes (TOP) to all fruits and vegetables in a pilot mode by allocating Rs 500 core.
Amendments to the Essential Commodities Act to deregulate cereals, edible oils, oil seeds, pulses, onions and potatoes. This will enable better price realisation for farmers.
A central law will be formulated for implementing agriculture marketing reforms. This provides marketing choices to farmers like every other trader.
Farmers will not face inter-state barriers.
A legal framework will be created for farmers, which will mitigate the risk, provide assured returns and standardise the quality.
