Govt annually spending over Rs 6.5 lakh crore for agriculture sector and farmer: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government is annually spending over Rs 6.5 lakh crore for the agriculture sector and farmers and asserted that the Centre is delivering rather than just talking about promises, in an apparent dig at the Congress party over poll guarantees.

Addressing the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress here, the prime minister asked cooperatives to become carriers of social and national policy instead of politics. He asked them to become a model of transparency and corruption-free governance, and adopt digital tools in a big way.

Modi called upon cooperatives to work towards increasing production of oilseeds and pulses, and help the country become self-reliant in cooking oils. Speaking at the event, the prime minister highlighted achievements of his government in the last nine years in the field of agriculture and related sectors.

Modi said the government has ensured supply of fertilisers at cheaper rates compared to other countries, bought large quantities of grains at minimum support price (MSP) and paid huge amount directly into bank accounts of farmers under PM-KISAN scheme.

On an average, the government is spending more than Rs 6.5 lakh crore yearly on agriculture and farmers, Modi said. The government is making sure that every farmer in the country receives around Rs 50,000 every year in some way or the other. This means, under the BJP government at the Centre, there is a guarantee that every farmer gets Rs 50,000 in various forms, he asserted.

Ye Modi ki guarantee hai. Aur maine jo kiya hai, woh bata raha hoon, vaade nahi bata raha hoon, the prime minister said. Elaborating, Modi said more than Rs 15 lakh crore have been given to farmers in the last nine years through procurement of their produce at MSP.

The government has spent Rs 10 lakh crore towards fertilizer subsidy in the last nine years to ensure that farmers get crop nutrients at reasonable price despite rise in global rates, he said, and quipped isse badi guarantee kya hoti hai, bhai.