Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday clarified that the Union Budget proposal of collecting Rs 30,000 crore through Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess will go to states so that mandi infrastructure can be improved.
Amid ongoing protests by farmers and the Opposition to repeal controversial farm laws, Sitharaman said that not even one Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) has been shut in any state, and instead the Budget makes provision to strengthen such market places for farmers. She was replying to a general debate on the Budget for 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha.
Taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi,