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Union Budget: MSP for kharif crops to be 1.5 times input cost, 5% more for farm, rural sector (Intro Roundup, correcting opening para)

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7 years ago

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New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) In line with the expected thrust on the farm and rural sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for notified kharif crops will be 1.5 times the input cost, and also stepped up total budgetary allocation for the sector for next fiscal by about five per cent.

Presenting the Union Budget for 2018-19, Jaitley said the government would spend more on agriculture, livelihood and infrastructure in the rural area and increased funds for crop insurance, rural roads, irrigation besides setting higher targets for farm credit.

With total budgetary outlay of Rs 2,01,933 crore for agriculture and rural development, the government has emphasized on development of food processing, dairy and fishery sectors to enhance farmers’ income.

The budgetary outlay for the agriculture sector and rural development sector increased from Rs 56,589 crore and Rs 1,35,604 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 63,836 crore and Rs 1,38,097, respectively.

In order to address problem of smooth transport of perishable commodities, the Minister proposed to launch ‘Operation Greens’ with allocation of Rs 500 crore, in which Farmer Producers Organisations (FPO), agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional management will be promoted.

Jaitley also announced ‘Re-structured National Bamboo Mission’, liberalisation in agri-commodities export and free LPG connections to eight crore poor women under Ujjwala Scheme.

Favourable taxation treatment will be given to FPOs for helping farmers aggregate their needs of inputs, farm services, processing and sale operations, he added.

The biggest takeaway from the Budget however was the assured higher return for agriculture produce as the government moved to tackle distress in rural parts in the wake of the upcoming assembly elections in some major states this year.

“The government has decided to make the MSP for all notified crops in the coming kharif season at least 1.5 times of input cost. It will help in doubling farmers’ income,” said the Minister, adding a concrete mechanism would be devised to ensure higher farm income.

In a series of tweets, farmer activist and Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav said the government had changed the input cost calculation formula and so the farmers will be “dodged again”.

The allocation to Market Intervention Scheme and Price Support Scheme was slashed to Rs 200 crore in 2018-19 from Rs 950 crore in 2017-18.

For the flagship crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMBFY), the Budget increased from Rs 10,698 crore (revised) in 2017-18 to Rs 13,014 crore in 2018-19 with an objective to bring 50 per cent of the gross cropped area under the insurance coverage.

Jaitley said the BJP-led NDA government had been steadily increasing the volume of institutional credit for agriculture sector — from Rs 8.5 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2017-18.

“I now propose to raise this to Rs 11 lakh crore for the year 2018-19,” he said.

The budget also witnessed a hike in allocation of irrigation scheme Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (Per Drop More Crop) from Rs 3,000 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 4,000 crore in 2018-19.

This scheme aims to bring 16 lakh hectares additional area under micro-irrigation.

The allocation to the country’s largest rural job assurance scheme — Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, known as MGNREGA, remained unchanged this year at Rs 55,000 crore.

The budget for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was increased from Rs 16,900 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 19,000 crore but allocation for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana decreased to Rs 21,000 crore in coming fiscal fiscal from Rs 23,000 crore in the current fiscal.

Jaitley announced setting up of a Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FAIDF) for fisheries sector and an Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) for financing infrastructure requirement of animal husbandry sector, with the total corpus of Rs 10,000 crore.

–IANS
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Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok

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2 months ago

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September 19, 2024

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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.

The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.

Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.

For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.

During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.

Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.

Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .

Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.

In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.

In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.

He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.

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