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Stressing on the need to encourage agriculture diversification programme, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday said Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should treat animal husbandry on a par with agriculture for income tax exemption.
This will motivate a majority of farmers for taking up allied farming on one hand and promote diversification of agriculture on the other, Badal added.
In a letter to the Union Finance Minister, Badal apprised Jaitley of the agriculture sector gradually becoming un-remunerative and thus agriculture diversification was a need of the hour, an official release said.
He cited animal husbandry could emerge as a strong viable alternative.
However, this could only happen if this sector was incentivised on the same lines as agriculture, he added.
Since agriculture was a major source of livelihood to the majority of Indian population and henceforth the Centre had been providing various incentives and subsidy to this sector, added Badal.
