Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the Centre was planning to spend Rs 50,000 crore on the farming and irrigation sector and plans were also afoot to roll out an insurance scheme exclusively for the farming sector to compensate for crop loss.

Admitting that the condition of farmers is a “matter of concern”, Mr. Jaitley said, “In the coming time, we have plans to spend Rs 50,000 crore on farming and irrigation sectors in the country.”

Addressing a public rally in chaste Punjabi here, the Union Minister said if the state governments come forward and utilise these funds, it will bring positive change in the field of agriculture sector.

“The condition of farmers is a matter of concern...We are working on the next challenge wherein if farmer’s crop gets damaged, he will automatically get insurance amount for the crop loss while sitting at his home. We are bringing an insurance scheme only for the farming sector,” Jaitley said.

Speaking in Mumbai on July 12, the Finance Minister had said, “Hopefully, in the near future, a viable and vibrant insurance scheme will be in place for farmers.”

The present crop insurance schemes cover only the loans which a farmer has taken from banks.

Noting that the agriculture sector presents its own set of challenges with successive low rate of growth over the years, he had admitted, “We have been unable to ensure even a 4 per cent growth consistently in the field of agriculture.”

“With productivity levels reasonably low and 85 per cent farmers being small and marginal, the agriculture sector is afflicted by higher input costs, low level of irrigation, high indebtedness, absence of an effective insurance mechanism and adverse impacts of climate change,” Jaitely had told the 34th Foundation Day celebrations of Nabard here.

Mr. Jaitley also described the alliance between SAD and BJP as a “social alliance”. “Besides political alliance, it is also a social alliance as both the parties have put in hard efforts to bring out the state from turmoil,” he said.

He said the alliance worked hard to bring peace and prosperity in Punjab.

The Union minister also visited ‘Meritorious School’ run by Punjab government and held an interactive session with its students.

During the interaction, no student expressed interest in pursuing a career in agriculture sector as they showed keen interest in becoming doctor, engineer or join army.

The finance minister also appreciated Punjab government for preserving numerous heritage sites. He said that many heritage sites belonged to different religions and the state government was giving due respect to all religious places.

Jaitley also appreciated Punjab government for putting in Rs 200 crore for Ram Tirath Temple in Amritsar for its maintenance and renovation.

The Union minister also said that the Centre will never hesitate in sanctioning adequate funds to bring improvement in state’s highways and road network.

Source - http://www.thehindu.com/