Reinforcing his party’s “deep commitment’’ to farmers, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday flagged the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojna aimed at ‘per drop more crop’ and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (organic farming) as the two most important progammes in the farm sector to enhance productivity and production.

He announced an allocation of Rs. 5,300 crore for micro-irrigation, watershed development and the “sinchai yojna’’ and Rs. 300 crore for organic farming with a request to state governments to “chip in’’ for both.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently launched the Soil Health Card Scheme from Suratgarh in Rajasthan. Recognising that agriculture incomes were under stress, Mr. Jaitley announced........Read more

Source web page: The Hindu