On November 21, 2020, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoAFW) has approved subsidized loans worth Rs 3,971.31 crore under Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) for implementing micro-irrigation projects. These funds were earlier approved by the steering committee of MIF.
- It should be noted that MIF is created with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for implementing micro-irrigation projects.
- The maximum loan worth Rs 1,357.93 crore has been approved for the state of Tamil Nadu, followed by Rs 790.94 crore for Haryana, Rs 764.13 crore for Gujarat, Rs 616.13 crore for Andhra Pradesh, Rs 276.55 crore for West Bengal, Rs 150 crore for Punjab and Rs 15.63 crore for Uttarakhand.
Key Points:
—-Of the total amount, NABARD has so far released an amount of Rs 1,754.60 crore to the states.
Rs.1754.60 crore has been provided to following states, Rs. 616.13 crore to Andhra Pradesh, Rs. 937.47 crore to Tamil Nadu, Rs. 21.57 crore to Haryana and Rs. 179.43 crore to Gujarat.
About Micro-Irrigation Fund:
This fund with a corpus of Rs 5,000 crore was operationalised in FY20 with an outlay of Rs 5,000 crore to facilitate states in availing subsidised loans for expanding coverage of micro irrigation beyond the provisions available under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (Per Drop More Crop) to encourage farmers to install micro irrigation systems.
- The subsidized loans are also provided for taking up special and innovative projects but also under micro irrigation.
What is micro-irrigation?
Micro irrigation is a modern method of irrigation by this method water is irrigated frequently (e.g. daily or multiple times per day) through drippers, sprinklers, foggers and by other emitters on the surface or subsurface of the land.
- Micro irrigation applies water at low rates and pressures to discrete areas so irrigation water reaches the root zone with minimal loss of water.
Recent Related News:
i.On September 24, 2020 Ministry for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched “Centralized Farm Machinery Performance Testing Portal” (https://www.agrimachinery.nic.in/FMTTI/Management) in public domain. The Portal has been developed by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Ministry of Agriculture.
ii.Kerala Government has formed ‘Kerala Karshaka Kshemanidhi Board’ (Kerala Farmers Welfare Fund Board) – a Board for upliftment of Farmers in the State. It is the first time in India that a Welfare Fund Board has been formed for upliftment of farmers.
About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoAFW):
Union Minister – Narendra Singh Tomar
Minister of State (MoS) – Parshottam Rupala, Kailash Choudhary
