Agriculture Minister praises Modi govt's farm reforms like fertiliser subsidy, PM-JANMAN

New Delhi [India], March 28 (ANI): Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday lauded the Modi government's efforts to support farmers, highlighting record subsidies on fertilisers, infrastructure development under PM-JANMAN Yojana, and key decisions on import-export duties to boost domestic agriculture.
"I thank PM Modi and his government for working continuously to increase the income of farmers," Chauhan told media reporters.
Drawing a sharp contrast with the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Chouhan criticized the steep hike in fertiliser prices during their tenure.
"The government bears the cost of increased prices of fertilisers, especially DAP. The Modi government is a well-wisher of farmers, but if you look at the UPA government, till 2011, the price of 500 kg of DAP was Rs 507.50 and the UPA government increased the price to Rs 887.46 in 2011-12 and to Rs 1315.56 in 2012-13," he said, adding that the Modi government has prevented any price hikes by extending massive subsidies.
He revealed that for the current fiscal year, the Centre has allocated approximately Rs 1.75 lakh crore in fertiliser subsidies, ensuring stable prices for farmers.
"The Modi government decided that the cost will not increase at all and so huge subsidies are being given to farmers and this year, a subsidy of about Rs 1,75,000 crore has been given to provide cheap fertilisers and I assure farmers that the cost of fertiliser will remain the same," he said.
"In the Kharif season, a subsidy of Rs 37,216 crore will be given for the same. The government decided to keep the import duty on lentils at 11 per cent, which means that there will be less import of lentils from outside, hence benefitting the farmers. The import duty on 'Chana' will be 10 per cent. 377 roads of 738.99 km length costing Rs 508.29 crore have been approved under PM-JANMAN Yojana. Huge support is being given for roads so that villages can be connected and the benefits reach the poor, farmers."
"The mantra of Modi government is clear--give farmers a fair price for their hard work," Chouhan asserted, reiterating the Centre's commitment to pro-farmer governance. (ANI)