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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that his government annually spends more than 6.5 crore rupees on the agriculture sector and farmers, and emphasized that the center makes promises rather than talks about them, in a clear quest in the Congress party on guarantees of balloting.
Addressing the 17th Indian Co-operative Congress here, the Prime Minister asked cooperatives to become bearers of social and national policy instead of politics. He asked them to become a model of transparency, corruption-free governance, and high adoption of digital tools.
Modi called on cooperatives to increase production of oilseeds and pulses and help the country become self-reliant in cooking oils.
The Prime Minister, while speaking at the event, highlighted his government’s achievements in the past nine years in the field of agriculture and related sectors.
Modi said the government had ensured the supply of fertilizers at cheaper prices compared to other countries, bought large quantities of grain at the lowest support price (MSP) and made huge payments directly into farmers’ bank accounts under the PM-KISAN scheme.
“On average, the government spends more than 6.5 crore rupees annually on agriculture and farmers,” Modi said.
“The government is making sure that every farmer in the country receives about 50,000 rupees every year in one way or another. This means that under the BJP government at the centre, there is a guarantee that every farmer will receive 50,000 rupees in various forms.”
This is Moody’s guarantee. “Ur Min Jo Kya Hai Woh Pata Raha Hoon and Wade Nahi Pata Raha Hoon,” said the Prime Minister.
Modi explained that more than Rs 15,000 crore have been given to farmers in the last nine years by purchasing their produce at MSP.
The government has spent INR 10 crore on fertilizer subsidies in the past nine years to ensure farmers have access to affordable crop nutrients despite soaring global prices, he said, sarcastically “Isse badi guarantee kya hoti hai, bhai”.
Modi explained that farmers get a bag of urea for about 270 rupees, which is much less than 720 rupees in Bangladesh, 800 rupees in Pakistan, 2,100 rupees in China and more than 3,000 rupees in America.
“This shows what a guarantee looks like and what tremendous efforts are required to change farmers’ lives,” he said.
In the last four years, the PM said, 2.5 crore rupees have been sent directly to farmers’ bank accounts under the PM KISAN scheme. Under PM-KISAN, farmers get Rs 6,000 annually.
“You can guess how big this is from the fact that the total agricultural budget for the five years before 2014 was less than Rs 90,000 crore,” Modi said.
He also reported the recent package of Rs 3.7 crore for the fertilizer sector as well as a fair and remunerative price increase (FRP) for sugarcane growers at Rs 315 per quintal.
Modi highlighted the contributions of dairy cooperatives in making India the largest producer of milk in the world and the role of cooperatives in making India one of the largest sugar producing countries in the world.
He emphasized that cooperatives have become a huge support system for small farmers in many parts of the country. Modi said the government has decided to boost the cooperative sector to achieve the goal of becoming a developed country.
He explained that this is the first time that a separate ministry has been formed and a budget allocated to cooperatives. Cooperatives are now being introduced with a platform quite similar to that of the corporate sector, Modi said.
The Prime Minister spoke about measures to strengthen cooperative societies and mentioned lowering tax rates. He highlighted the measures taken to strengthen cooperative banks.
Modi pointed out that through the Digital India campaign, the government has increased transparency and secured benefits for the beneficiaries.
“Today, the poorest of the poor believe that corruption and nepotism in the upper echelons have been eradicated,” he added.
Modi stressed that the cooperative sector must become a “model of transparency and corruption-free governance,” and for this, digital systems must be strengthened in the cooperative sector.
Noting that India is known in the world for its digital transactions, the Prime Minister urged cooperative societies and banks to stay ahead when it comes to digital transactions. He said it would increase transparency and efficiency in the market while enabling better competition.
Emphasizing that the Primary Level Cooperative Societies or PACS will become a model of transparency, Modi said that the computerization of more than 60,000 PACS has already been done.
He stressed that cooperatives should take full advantage of the technology available to them and that the nation would benefit greatly from the acceptance of basic banking and digital transactions by cooperative societies.
Referring to the ever-increasing record exports, the Prime Minister asked the cooperatives to also contribute in this regard.
He spoke in detail about the measures taken to address the challenges of sugarcane farmers. Sugar mills were given a package of Rs 20,000 crores to clear farmers’ dues. Priority was given to blending ethanol with petrol and ethanol worth Rs 70,000 crore was purchased from sugar mills in the last nine years, he said.
The Prime Minister pointed out that food security should not be limited to wheat and rice and noted that India is spending close to Rs 2-2.5 crore on importing edible oils, pulses, fish feed, processed food etc.
He urged farmers and cooperatives to work in this direction and to make the nation profitable in the production of edible oil.
Modi was confident that cooperatives would become a powerful medium for the country’s economic resource in the new India. He emphasized the need to build self-sufficient villages by following the cooperative model.
Modi suggested improving cooperation among cooperatives and said that cooperatives should become carriers of social policy and national policy instead of politics.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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