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Budget 2019: Incentive for farmers, more money for SC & STs, and more

Rs 58,166 cr is the allocation for the Northeastern states, up 21 per cent over 2019-20. Rs 19,000 cr is the allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

Interim Budget 2019
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Sanjiv Puri
Last Updated : Feb 01 2019 | 9:41 PM IST
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Farmers in animal husbandry get incentive to repay loans 

An interest subvention of 2 per cent will be provided to farmers engaged in animal husbandry and fisheries who avail loans through the Kisan Credit Card. Further, in case of timely repayment of loans, they will also get an additional three per cent interest subvention. Farmers affected by severe natural calamities, where assistance is provided from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF), will be provided an interest subvention of two per cent and a prompt repayment incentive of three per cent for the entire period of rescheduling of their loans. 

Single-window clearance for entertainment industry 

To give a push to the entertainment industry, single-window clearance for ease of shooting films, available only to foreigners, is now going to be made available to Indian filmmakers as well. Regulatory provisions will rely more on self-declaration. Anti-camcording provisions will be introduced in the Cinematograph Act 
to control the menace of piracy.

Cleaning India mission gathers momentum 

The government declared that under the Swachh Bharat Mission, India has achieved 98 per cent rural sanitation coverage and as many as 545,000 villages have been declared ”Open Defecation Free”. With the people’s participation, it has been transformed from a government scheme to a national movement.

Electricity connections for all families by March 2019 

By March 2019, all willing families will get an electricity connection. Rs 143 crore has been provided for LED bulbs with the participation of the private sector. This has resulted in savings of approximately Rs 50,000 crore per year in electricity bills of poor and middle-class families.

More money for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes schemes 

Allocations for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have been increased. The allocation of Rs 56,619 crore made in BE 2018-19 for Scheduled Castes will be increased to Rs 62,474 crore in RE and enhanced to Rs 76,801 crore in BE 2019-20, an increase of 35.6 per cent over BE 2018-19. For Scheduled Tribes also, the proposed allocation in BE 2019-20 is Rs 50,086 crore, as against Rs 39,135 crore in BE 2018-19, an increase of 28 per cent.

Income support for small and marginal farmers 

To provide assured income support to small and marginal farmers, the government is launching the Pradhan Mantri KIsan SAmman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), under which vulnerable landholding farmer families having cultivable land of up to two hectares will be provided direct income support at the rate of Rs 6,000 per year. 

Fisheries development gets pride of place

To give a boost to fisheries, which provides a livelihood to over 14.5 million people at the primary level, the government has decided to create a separate department of fisheries.

Fillip for artificial intelligence and related technologies

To provide the benefits of artificial intelligence and related technologies to the people, a national programme on AI is envisaged. It will be catalysed by establishing the National Centre on Artificial Intelligence as a hub along with centres of excellence. Nine priority areas have been identified. A National Artificial Intelligence portal will also be developed. 


More money for education and child development 

The allocation for the National Education Mission is being increased from Rs 32,334 crore in RE 2018-19 to Rs 38,572 crore in 2019-20. The allocation for the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) is being increased from Rs 23,357 crore in RE 2018-19 to Rs 27,584 crore in 2019-20.

New focus on nomadic and semi-nomadic communities 

A committee will be set up under the NITI Aayog to complete the task of identifying denotified nomadic and semi-nomadic communities not yet formally classified. A Welfare Development Board will be set up under the ministry of social justice and empowerment for implementing welfare and development programmes for these communities. 

A boost for freight and inlandwaterways in northeast  

Container cargo movement will be introduced in the Northeast, by improving the navigation capacity of the Brahmaputra river. For the first time, container freight movement has started on inland waterways from Kolkata to Varanasi.   

Big move to enhance productivity of cows 

In a major push to animal husbandry, a “Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog” is to be set up, to scale up sustainable genetic upgradation of cows and enhance the productivity of cows. The Aayog will also look after effective implementation of laws and welfare schemes for cows. It has also increased the allocation for the Rashtriya Gokul Mission to Rs 750 crore in the current year itself.

Pension plan for unorganized sector workers 

The government will launch a pension scheme — Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maandhan — for unorganised sector workers with a monthly income of up to Rs 15,000. 

This will provide them an assured monthly pension of Rs 3,000 from the age of 60. A worker joining the scheme at the age of 29 will have to contribute Rs 100 per month till the age of 60. A worker joining the scheme at 18 years needs to contribute Rs 55 per month.


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First Published: Feb 01 2019 | 8:27 PM IST

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