Government to spend Rs 25 lakh crore to boost rural economy

New Delhi: The government has provided over Rs 43,000 crore to more than 8 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme and will spend Rs 25 lakh crore in coming years to boost the rural economy, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Friday.

Addressing the joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament, he said: "Bringing about a change in the lives of farmers, who serve the country selflessly, and development of rural areas are the priorities of my government."

The government is "going to spend an amount of Rs 25 lakh crore" in the coming years to strengthen the rural economy and is working on a strategy to develop an income-centric system aimed at doubling the income of farmers, he added.

"Under the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), more than Rs 43,000 crore has been deposited in the bank accounts of more than eight crore farmer families. On January 2, my government has created a record by transferring Rs 12,000 crore to the bank accounts of six crore farmers simultaneously," Kovind said.

Through the Rs 87,000 crore PM-KISAN scheme, the government is providing Rs 6,000 per year to farmers in three equal instalments. The ambitious programme, which was launched in the interim Budget last year, aims to cover 14.5 crore farmers.

That aside, Kovind said the government is steadily increasing the minimum support price (MSP) for Kharif and Rabi crops as part of its decision to fix the MSP at least one and a half times the input cost. He highlighted that the procurement of pulses and oilseeds has increased by more than 20 times.

The President said the central government, along with states, is working to provide relief to farmers from natural calamities.