In a landmark event, Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman & Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar unveiled initiatives focused on agri-credit (KCC & MISS) and crop insurance (PMFBY/RWBCIS) in New Delhi on Tuesday.
On the occasion three initiatives were launched namely the Kisan Rin Portal (KRP), KCC Ghar Ghar Abhiyaan, an ambitious campaign aiming to extend the benefits of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme to every farmer across the nation and a manual on Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS).
These initiatives aim to revolutionize agriculture, enhance financial inclusion, optimize data utilization, and improve the lives of farmers across the nation, claimed govt sources/
In her keynote address Nirmala Sitharaman assured full cooperation of banks for success of Ghar Ghar KCC Abhiyan. She said that the government has allocated enough money under KCC scheme to ensure easy short-term loans to farmers and their onboarding for the scheme.
On Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), she said that over 1,40,000 crores of insurance amount have been disbursed to farmers so far against a premium amount of Rs. 29,000 crores.
The finance minister said that real time estimation of crops will help the economy and ensure right prices for farmers at the end of crop season. Smt. Sitharaman also called for full automation of regional rural banks and cooperative banks and directed Department of Financial services to study the gap between loan sanction and loan disbursement for these banks.
Speaking on the occasion Narendra Singh Tomar sadi that budget for Ministry of agriculture has increased from Rs. 23,000 crores in year 2013-14 to Rs. 1,25,000 crores in 2023-24. Talking of WINDS manual, the minister said the aim is to ensure real time weather information so that farmers can take right precaution for their crops at the right time.
Tomar said the aim of KCC Ghar Ghar Abhiyaan is to connect around 1.5 crore beneficiaries who are not yet connected to KCC scheme. He thanked Ministry of Finance and banks for providing around 2 crore KCCs to farmers even during Corona pandemic.
Ritesh Chauhan, JS (Credit) and CEO, PMFBY made a detailed presentation on the initiatives. He informed that Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has seen record enrolment this year because of technological interventions made.
The launch was also attended by Minister of State for Agriculture Sushri Shobha Karandlaje and Kailash Chaudhary, Secretary Agriculture Manoj Ahuja, Secretary DFS Vivek Joshi, OSD (Credit) Ajit Kumar Sahu, CEO-PMFBY Ritesh Chauhan, Chairman NABARD Shaji KV and many dignitaries from allied departments and agri-sector.
