West Bengal has been selected for 'Krishi Karman' Award for 2012-13 as the best performing state in overall agricultural production in the country.
Announcing this here today state's Agriculture Minister Malay Ghatak told PTI that Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has invited him to receive the award.
The award would be presented by the President during the inaugural ceremony of the World Congress on Agro Forestry 2014 at New Delhi on February 10, Ghatak said.
A number of states are selected every year since its inception in 2010-11 for the best performance towards raising production of foodgrains in different segments.
While some awards are given for overall foodgrain production, some are given on production of rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses -- the crops that constitute the foodgrain basket.
'Krishi Karman Awards' are the first ever awards being given to states for their effort and contribution towards raising the country's foodgrain production.
Each award winning state gets a trophy, a citation and cash award. The cash award for each state is Rs 2 crore for overall foodgrain production and Rs 1 crore for each of the four crops included in foodgrains.
