On first Wednesday falling in the second month of this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 commenced her budget speech by calling it as ‘the first budget of Amrit Kaal’ and throughout her address, she was heard referring to the term ‘Amrit Kaal’ repeatedly. Ms. Sitharaman told that, ‘Our vision for the ‘Amrit Kaal’ includes a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy with strong public finances and a robust financial sector. To achieve this, she called for ‘Jan-Bhagidari’ (public participation) through ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Prayas’ (efforts by all) as essential.
The Union Budget 2023 was much awaited one because of the recovery from aftershocks of COVID-19 pandemic and the focus on key aspects like sustainability, entrepreneurship and empowerment. The agriculture sector despite being the major contributor to the GDP is still faced with a plethora of challenges. As expected, Union Budget 2023 came up with multiple initiatives to overcome these challenges and to pave the way for its emergence to heights as envisioned by our Hon’ble Prime Minister during this Amrit Kaal. These initiatives announced by the government will definitely contribute to the all round progress and prosperity of the farming community in the country.
Agriculture Accelerator Fund
Finance Minister having taken cognizance of the increasing demand and supply of new-age technologies in agriculture and allied industries included the term ‘Agritech’ in the announcement for the first time and extended greater support to the agritech sector this year by announcing an Agriculture Accelerator Fund (AAF) to be set up to encourage agri startups. An amount of Rs 500 crore has been allocated over a period of 5 years towards AAF. The agri startups thus established will have the potential to leverage agriculture with technology and jobs. Young innovative minds will not only generate jobs for themselves, but also create jobs for many others.
Strengthening Cooperative Structure
To strengthen the cooperative structure in the country, computerization of 63, 000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) will be done and for this an amount of Rs 2, 516 crore in the budget has been allocated.
Agriculture Credit
An amount of rupees 20 lakh crore has been set up as agriculture credit and targeted for Fisheries, Dairy and Animal husbandry. This amount will definitely take care of the farming community especially small and marginal farmers for whom livestock is the main source of livelihood. Fisheries sector will also get a boost through this amount.
‘Shri-Anna’ for Promoting Millets
Millets will now be known as ‘Shri-Anna’. India will be Global Hub for millets and financial support will be given to Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) for promoting research on millets. The focus on millet cultivation will contribute to India’s position as the nutrition hub for the world.
Storage
Presently the storage capacity in the country is not in tune with the capacity required. Moreover storage facilities available in the country are also not accessible to the farming community in the country. Decentralized storage capacity for farmers, is the need of the hour. This aspiration has also been fulfilled. The Union Budget 2023 also mentions about the promotion of storage structures to be established at the grass roots level to enhance the storage capacity of the producers.
Atma Nirbhar Clean Plant Programme
Infestation from different diseases has been a dire problem affecting 35% of total crop productivity. This aspect has been taken care of by the Atma Nirbhar Clean Plant program with a budget allocation of 2200 crore. This will offer farmers access to the availability of disease-free, clean planting material, benefitting crop yield in large numbers.
PM KISAN
A cash transfer of rupees 2.2 lakh crore to over 1,104 crore farmers under PM KISAN has been kept in the budget. This amount will definitely help the vast majority of marginal and small farming community in the country to purchase inputs like seeds, fertilizers and plant protection chemicals during sowing time.
PM PRANAM
PM PRANAM will also be launched to incentivize states and UTs to use alternative fertilizers. PM-PRANAM stands for PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother Earth. Under the scheme, the GoI is planning to promote alternatives to fertilizers and also to promote the balanced use of chemicals.
Fertilizer Subsidy
An amount of Rs 1.75 lakh crore has been set aside for fertilizer subsidies in Budget 2023-24, which is 22 percent lower than Rs 2.25 lakh crore for FY23. This is an indication that government will now focus on natural and organic farming practices which largely exclude the use of synthetic fertilizers.
MISHTI
Mangroves are not just some of the most bio-diverse locations in India, but they also protect the coastlines from the vagaries of inclement weather. As climate change increases the incidence of extreme weather events across the world, mangrove plantations have shown to make coastal lands resilient, preventing flooding, land erosion and acting as a buffer for cyclones. Furthermore, they are also excellent carbon sinks. The Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) declared in Union Budget 2023-23 will facilitate mangrove plantation along India’s coastline and on salt pan lands. The MISHTI program which will be operated through convergence between MGNREGS, CAMPA Fund and other sources, will be a game changer for protecting Mangroves.
Amrit Dharohar
Amrit Dharohar has also been declared as a Central Government Scheme in Union Budget 2023-24 emphasizing on the importance of wetlands and their preservation. It will be implemented over the next three years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities who will be the caretakers of the ecosystem.
Digital Public Infrastructure
Union Budget also 2023 focuses on building a digital public infrastructure to give accessible, informative and inclusive solution to the various problems of farming communities. Digital public infrastructure for agriculture will enable an open source, open standard, and interoperable public good encompassing farmer-centric solutions. This will definitely help improve access to farm inputs for the farmers whilst also boosting market intelligence, thereby also providing support to Agri-tech and startup growth. Provision of Rs 450 crore has been made for the Digital Agriculture Mission started by the Modi Government and about Rs. 600 crore has been allocated for the promotion of Agriculture sector through technology.
Green Growth
The budget 2023 also places a substantial emphasis on green growth and sustainability. The government has earmarked Rs 35,000 core in priority capital investment towards energy transition and achieving India’s goal of net zero carbon emission by 2070.
Finance Minister had also announced an additional Rs 19,700 crore towards the government’s Green Hydrogen Mission to lower carbon intensity and reduce fossil fuel use. She has also announced a five million tonne target for green hydrogen production by 2030. These funds will be used to promote renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and bio-energy, in addition to reforestation and wildlife conservation.
Natural Farming
The government is going to boost the natural farming in a big way. Adoption of Natural Farming practices will not only add to the quality of the crops produced but also add to the sustainability to farming practices. Centre will encourage 10 million farmers to take up Natural Farming. To further facilitate the adoption of this type of farming, 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres will be set-up, creating a national-level distributed micro-fertilizer and pesticide manufacturing network.
Artificial Intelligence
Three centers of excellence for artificial intelligence are to be set up where leading tech companies will partner with the government for AI integration in the areas of health and agriculture. The government’s emphasis on ‘Make Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India and Make Artificial Intelligence work for India’ reflects a clear determination to leverage the power of Artificial Intelligence for maximum impact across various sectors including agriculture.
National Cooperative Database
The government proposes to adopt a cluster-based value chain approach through public-private partnerships. Towards this goal, a National cooperative database will be set up to map decentralized storage capacities across the country. This initiative will create pathways for last-mile linkages farmers to store their produce and earn remunerative prices. It will also open more opportunities for private-sector investments in agri-infrastructure.
With a focus on remunerativeness, inclusiveness, environment and ecology and by declaring schemes like AAF, MISHTI, PM PRANAM, Amrit Dharohar, Bio Input Resource Centers (BIRCs); Budget 2023 truly sets the foundation for the ‘Amrit Kaal’ of India’s agriculture sector.
(Dr. Kumar is a Faculty at SKUAST-K and can be reached at [email protected])
