 "Budget focuses on review of agri research setup, new phase of rural roads")
The first Budget of the Narendra Modi government’s third term in office has promised a comprehensive review of the agricultural research setup in the country and will launch the fourth phase of the rural roads programme, targeted at connecting 25,000 new habitations.
The review of agricultural research will focus on raising productivity and developing climate-resistant seed varieties, for which funding will be provided to the private sector and experts will oversee the conduct of this research.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised to build large-scale clusters for vegetable production near major consumption centres, pilot projects on digital public infrastructure in agriculture, and a new cooperative policy for the sector.
Agriculture and allied activities got almost Rs 1.52 trillion, which is 8.05 per cent more than the Revised Estimate for 2023-24 and also 3.5 per cent more than the Interim Budget had given.
Within this, allocation for the Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE), which is the research wing of the agriculture ministry, was retained at Rs 9,941 crore, the same as in the Interim Budget.
However, Ajay Vir Jakhar, chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj, said corporate euphoria at the thought of accessing the data of farmers, their lands, and their crops through the establishment of a Digital Public Infrastructure Framework was a dark comedy — especially when most states did not even mandatorily communicate or file e-documents (in accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000) for inter- and intra-departmental correspondence.
Sudhir Panwar, a former member of the UP Planning Commission, meanwhile, said the entry of the private sector into agriculture research in the name of developing climate-resilient technology and seeds, might affect the sovereignty of public institutions and farmers on seeds.
More From This Section
That apart, for the rural sector, the Union Budget reiterated the Interim Budget announcement of building 20 million new houses over the next five years with an enhanced allocation of Rs 2 lakh per unit from Rs 1,20,000, a jump of almost 67 per cent.
“The estimated financial requirements for construction of 20 million houses each of Rs 2.05 lakh average unit assistance (estimated) is approximately Rs 418,200 crores (including 2 per cent administrative funds),” the Budget document showed.
In this, the central share is estimated to be Rs 2,63,466 crore (63 per cent of the total cost), while the rest is the states’.
For FY25, the Budget Estimate for rural houses was around Rs 54,500.14 crore, which is almost 70 per cent more than the Revised Estimate of FY24.
The allocation for the rural job scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was retained at Rs 86 crore, which was the same as in the Interim Budget and 43 per cent more than the BE of FY24. For the agriculture sector, a big jump in allocation was made for the PM-ASHAA (Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Yojana) from Rs 2,200 crore in the Revised Estimate for FY24 to Rs 6,437 crore in the Budget Estimate of FY25, an increase of almost 192 per cent. PM-ASHAA promises to guarantee minimum support prices to farmers, particularly those growing oilseeds and pulses through either direct support or price deficiency payment mechanism.
For rural lands, the Budget promised a unique land parcel identification number, bhu-aadhar for all lands, digitisation of cadastral maps, establishment of a land registry, and linking of all farmers’ land with the same.
For the marine fisheries sector, the Budget made a series of announcements to boost shrimp exports starting with a reduction in basic customs duty on products used by shrimp hatcheries and feeds. It also promised financial support for setting up a network of Nucleus Breeding Centres for Shrimp Broodstocks and to finance shrimp farming, processing, and export through NABARD.
“The ongoing exercise by the government to remove hindrances on shrimp exports has continued while the reduction in basic customs duty on products and produce used by shrimp hatcheries and feeds is positive for the sector as it will reduce the unnecessary costs,” said Nitin Awasthi of InCred Equities.
'Shares of shrimp exporters and aquafeed firms soared on the announcements with scrips of companies like Zeal Aqua soaring 9.75 per cent, Apex Frozen Foods rallying 3.07 per cent, Waterbase climbing 2.33 per cent, Coastal Corp going up by 2.28 per cent and Kings Infra Ventures ending 1.01 per cent higher on the BSE.