Makhana cultivation has expanded from approximately 13,000 hectares to 35,000 hectares across multiple states, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Bhagirath Choudhary, said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha hailed Budget announcements as a major boost for Bihar, citing a new greenfield airport, Makhana Board, Western Kosi irrigation system, food-processing institute, and taxation relief up to Rs 12 lakhs.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the establishment of the Makhana Board in Bihar. She also announced that Greenfield airports will be felicitated in Bihar in addition to the expansion of the capacity of the Patna Airport and a brownfield airport in Bihta.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech today, proposed to form a Makhana Board in the state of Bihar. Makhana or foxnuts, a nutritious food, is widely produced and consumed in Bihar.
"I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan on behalf of lakhs of farmers of Bihar who cultivate foxnuts... These farmers have been demanding the formation of a Makhana Board for a very long time, jus