Live
- South Korea: Main Oppn hails Yoon's impeachment motion passage as 'victory for people, democracy'
- RG Kar issue: Tension flared over parallel protests by Congress, SUCI(C) outside CBI offices
- After furore, Central Railway revokes order to raze Lord Hanuman Temple at Dadar
- Now hoteliers' body in Bengal's Alipurduar shut doors for Bangladeshi tourists
- District Collector Encourages Students to Utilize Government Facilities for a Better Future
- Per capita availability of fruits, vegetables increases in India
- FII buying reaches Rs 22,765 crore in Dec as economic growth stays resilient
- National Energy Conservation Day 2024: Date, Importance, and Easy Ways to Save Energy
- Gastronomic trouble: After 'disappearing' samosas Himachal CM in row over red jungle fowl
- Meaningful dialogue a priceless jewel of democracy: Jagdeep Dhankhar
Rs.5,000 cr for farm loan waiver in AP
Rs.5,000 cr for farm loan waiver in AP, The Andhra Pradesh government has allocated Rs 5,000 crore for waiver of crop loans in its budget for agriculture.
- P Pulla Rao presents agriculture budget
- Total outlay pegged at Rs.13,110.39 cr
- Rs.6,736 cr allotted for plan expenditure
- Rs.3,188 cr subsidy for 9-hour power supply
- ICRISAT to help in soil health management
- Soil mapping and testing in every village
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has allocated Rs 5,000 crore for waiver of crop loans in its budget for agriculture.
Presenting the first agriculture budget for 2014-15 in the legislative assembly on Friday, Agriculture Minister P Pulla Rao said despite the revenue deficit, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government has allocated the amount to fulfil its poll promise to waive off farmers' loans. Given that Andhra Pradesh has inherited crisis-ridden agriculture sector from the previous government, Rao said that the government has estimated the total agriculture budget to be Rs 13,110.39 crore. Of this, the plan outlay for agriculture and allied activities stands at Rs 6,736.44 crore and non-plan expenditure at Rs 6,373.95 crore.
Stating that the government has taken a brave step by going ahead with the loan waiver for farmers despite starting off with a revenue deficit, the minister said that Rs 5,000 crore has be allocated for agriculture crop loan waiver.
The state government is partnering with ICRISAT and other institutions for soil health management through Bhuchetna programme. Under National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), soil mapping and testing will be taken up in every village of AP to bring down input costs of farmers and increase agriculture productivity, the minister informed the House. For this, the state government will use advanced technologies like remote sensing, GIS and GPS-simulation models for optimum use of fertilisers.
A budget of Rs 212 crore has been allocated for 2014-15 for popularizing better seed varieties and supply of certified seeds on subsidy to farmers. In order to modernize agriculture by using best machinery and for setting up different agri-related service centres, the government has allocated Rs 90 crore.
The government has also decided that crop loan interest for loan between Rs 1 lakh- Rs 3 lakh would be 0.25 paise (Pavala Vaddi) if repaid in time and will be continued. Taking a step further, the government has said farmers can avail of interest-free loans for crop loans below Rs 1 lakh.
Promising daily nine-hour free electricity supply to farmers instead of present seven-hour supply the government allocated Rs 3,188 crore for power subsidy to farmers for the year 2014-15. It is proposed that every year 10,000 new solar pump sets will be installed in a phased manner in the next five years.
