New Delhi : Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said that since the day he became the Agriculture Minister, he has been thinking day and night about how to take agriculture forward and ensure the welfare of farmers.
While addressing a national seminar and alumni get-together at ICAR, Chouhan said, "We have to take agriculture forward and ensure the welfare of farmers. The vision of the Prime Minister is our mission. From the day I became the Agriculture Minister, I have been thinking day and night about how to do it better."
The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare expressed his pride in being Indian, citing India as the birthplace of Vedic hymns, composed at a time when other developed nations had not yet seen the rise of civilisation.
"At present our country is progressing rapidly... India is a very ancient and great nation. We all know this. When the sun of civilization had not risen in the developed countries of the world, the hymns of the Vedas were composed here. It is truly an amazing country and I am proud to be an Indian," he said.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on June 11.
Meanwhile, PM Modi, after assuming office for the third term, authorised the release of the 17th installment of the PM Kisan Nidhi, which aims to benefit 9.3 crore farmers and distribute around Rs 20,000 crore.
PM-KISAN scheme was launched in 2019, to supplement the financial needs of all land-holding farmers subject to certain exclusion criteria of higher income status. The financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal installments, every four months, is transferred into the bank accounts of farmers' families across the country through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
Till now, over Rs 3.04 lakh crore has been disbursed to more than 11 crore farmers across the nation and with this release, the total amount transferred to the beneficiaries since the inception of the scheme will cross well over Rs 3.24 lakh crore.