On October 17, 2022, the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi inaugurated PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi, Delhi. The event is dedicated to meeting the needs of farmers & transforming the agriculture sector.
It saw the participation of more than 13,500 farmers and around 1500 Agri Startups from India, and the launch/release/inauguration of the following initiatives:
Release of 12th instalment amount of Rs. 16,000 crores under PM-KISAN through DBT
The PM released 12th instalment amount of Rs. 16,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). So far, eligible farmer families have received benefits worth more than Rs. 2 lakh crore under PM-KISAN.
- The beneficiary farmer must have completed their PM-Kisan eKYC process by 31 August 2022 to receive the 12th instalment amount.
About PM-KISAN:
It was launched on 24th February in 2019 by PM Narendra Modi at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. It is 100% Funded by the central government under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW). February 24, 2022, marks the 3rd anniversary of PM-KISAN Scheme.
- Objective: To provide income support to all landholding farmer’s families irrespective of the land size in order to meet their expenses related to agriculture and domestic needs.
Inauguration of 600 PMKSK under the MoC&F
The PM also inaugurated 600 Pradan Mantri Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PM-KSK) under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers (MoC&F). This scheme will convert the retail fertilizer shops in India into PM-KSK in a phased manner.
- As a part of this launch, the PM virtually inaugurated two PMKSK in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu (TN) viz. at Sakthi Fertilizers Corporation at Kavundampalayam and Global Agro Chemicals in Pollachi.
- It is proposed to convert 3,30,499 retail fertilizer shops into PM-KSKs.
Present Scenario:
Currently, there are about 2.7 lakh fertilizer retail outlets at village, sub-district/ sub-division/ taluka and district level in India. These retail shops are managed by co-operative or private dealers. Now these will be converted into one stop shops as PM-KSKs.
How will they be beneficial for farmers?
PM-KSKs not only sell fertilizers but also create awareness about various schemes available for farmers thus making it a one-stop shop. These will cater to a wide variety of needs of the farmers and provide agri-inputs (fertilisers, seeds, implements), testing facilities for soil, seeds, and fertilisers; among others.
Launch of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Urvarak Pariyojana
The PM also launched Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Urvarak Pariyojana – One Nation One Fertilizer scheme by MoC&F to brand all subsidized fertilizers as One nation, one fertilizer under the name Pradhanmantri Bhartiya Januvarak Pariyojna, and will have a common bag design.
About One nation, One fertilizer:
This scheme allows companies to display their name, brand, logo and other relevant product information only on one-third space of their bags. .On the remaining two-thirds space, the Bharat brand and Pradhanmantri Bharatiya Jan Urvarak Pariyojana logo will be shown.
- The single brand name for Urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), Muriate of Potash (MOP) and NPK (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)) etc. would be BHARAT UREA, BHARAT DAP, BHARAT MOP and BHARAT NPK etc. respectively for all Fertiliser Companies, State Trading Entities (STEs) and Fertiliser Marketing Entities (FMEs).
Benefits:
i.Farmers will get quality crop nutrients at low cost.
ii.There is no product differentiation among different brands for each type of fertilizer.
iii.There will be introduction of nano urea to ease farm process. One bottle of nano urea can replace a sackful of urea.
iv.It will prevent the criss-cross movement of fertilizers and reduce high freight subsidies.
Inaugurated of Agri Startup Conclave and Exhibition
The PM also inaugurated the Agri Startup Conclave and Exhibition in which about 300 startups showcased their innovation related to Precision Farming, Post-Harvest & Value Add Solutions, Allied Agriculture, Waste to Wealth, Mechanisation for Small Farmers, Supply Chain Management, and Argi-Logistic among others.
- This conclave facilitated startups to interact with farmers, FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations), agri-experts, corporates etc.
PM launched ‘Indian Edge’, an e-magazine on Fertilizer
The PM launched ‘Indian Edge’, an e-magazine on fertilizer. It will provide information on domestic and international fertilizer scenarios, including recent developments, price trends analysis, availability and consumption, and success stories of farmers among others.
Other Participants:
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, MoA&FW; Union Mansukh Mandaviya, MoC&F; Union Minister of State (MoS) Bhagwanth Khuba, MoC&F; and Union MoS for MoA&FW Kailash Choudhary and Shobha Karandhlaje; and other senior officials.
Recent Related News:
i.Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with its National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) and Crop Science Division of ICAR organised Hackathon 3.0 “KRITAGYA”, a national-level hackathon‘ on promoting ‘Speed Breeding for Crop Improvement’. This also aims to encourage greater adoption of technology-enabled solutions in the field of crop science.
ii.The Government of India (GoI) intends to launch the Pradhan Mantri Promotion of Alternate Nutrients for Agriculture Management Yojana (PM PRANAM) to reduce the usage of chemical fertilizers. The PM PRANAM Scheme is an initiative to promote using fertilizers in a balanced manner along with bio-fertilizers and organic fertilizers as alternative sources of nutrients.
About Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI):
It is commonly known as the Pusa Institute.
Director– Ashok Kumar Singh
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
