Union Minister for Rural Development, Agriculture, and Farmers Welfare, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while expressing pleasure at the decisions of the Union Cabinet in a press conference, said that the new year should bring happiness and prosperity in the lives of the people of our country and we should be able to fulfill Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's resolve of a developed India. He said that the government has dedicated the New Year to the farmers. For this, I thank Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi from the bottom of my heart. Today the cabinet has taken 3 big decisions in the interest of farmers. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is provided for the farmers.
He said that earlier the states did not pay their share. The states used to delay it a lot but the central government has said that we will put our share immediately. Many such decisions have been taken in the crop insurance scheme:
- The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme till 2025-26 with a total budget of ₹69,515.71 crore.
- The aim of this decision is to provide risk coverage to farmers against natural calamities.
- The Cabinet approved the setting up of the Fund for Innovation and Technology (FIAT), with an allocation of ₹824.77 crore for technology improvements in insurance schemes.
- Key initiatives include a Yield Estimation System using Technology (YES-TECH), which uses remote sensing for crop yield estimates.
- Weather Information and Network Data System (WINDS) for augmenting weather data through automatic weather stations.
- Implementation of WINDS to assist state governments will begin in 2024-25.
Talking about the third decision, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Cabinet has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the trade of Non-Basmati White Rice (NBWR) between the Ministry of Cooperation of India and the Ministry of Trade of Indonesia. Shri Chouhan said that targets have been set for the next month of work of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and efforts will continue to achieve those targets.