New Delhi, March 6 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that since agriculture is a state subject, states must be inspired to fulfil their budgetary responsibilities, as he called for strengthening budget provisions at the district level for maximum impact.

Addressing the third post-Budget webinar, the Prime Minister noted that stakeholders had provided valuable cooperation during the budget formulation.

“Now, after the budget, it is equally important that the country reaps the benefits of its full potential, and your suggestions in this direction and this webinar are thus important,” he emphasised.

The Prime Minister emphasised several programmes, such as the ‘PM Kisan Samman Nidhi’, and Minimum Support Price (MSP) reforms, that provide farmers with 1.5 times returns.

He noted that 10 crore farmers have received over Rs 4 lakh crore as PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, and nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in insurance claims have been settled under ‘PM Fasal Bima Yojana’.

PM Modi also noted that the institutional credit coverage has become more than 75 per cent.

“Such numerous efforts have reduced the risks for farmers and provided them with basic economic security,” he affirmed.

Highlighting that renewed efforts have been made in this direction in this year’s Union Budget, PM Modi expressed confidence that the webinar’s deliberations would fast-track the implementation of budget provisions.

“I am confident that the discussion among you in this webinar and the resulting suggestions will help in implementing the budget provisions on the ground as quickly as possible,” he asserted.

Focusing on high-value agriculture, the Prime Minister detailed budget proposals for region-specific promotion of crops like cocoa, cashew, and sandalwood.

PM Modi also highlighted the budget proposal of promoting agarwood in the northeast and temperate nut crops in the Himalayan states.

He noted that export-oriented production would lead to rural employment through processing and value addition. “If we scale high-value agriculture together, it will transform agriculture into a globally competitive sector,” he highlighted.

India is the world’s second-largest fish producer. PM Modi further highlighted that while approximately 4.5 lakh tonnes of fish are currently produced in our various reservoirs and ponds, there exists a potential for an additional 20 lakh tonnes of production.

“Fisheries can become a major platform for export growth,” he remarked.

India is also the world’s largest milk producer and ranks second in egg production.

PM Modi said that the focus must be on breeding quality, disease prevention, and scientific management.

He further emphasised that the health of livestock is a crucial subject, noting, “When I speak of ‘One Earth, One Health,’ it includes the health of livestock.”

–IANS

na/vd