Farmers organizations are demanding legal guarantee of MSP. Voices are being raised to exempt agricultural equipment from GST. The limit of Kisan Credit Card may increase in the budget.
New Delhi. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget on 23 July. It is expected that the Finance Minister will make many big announcements for farmers in this budget. It is believed that the government can make important provisions regarding PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, Kisan Credit Card and PM Kusum Yojana. After the continuous demand of farmer organizations for legal guarantee of MSP and the announcement of farmer organizations of Punjab, more amount may be allocated in the budget to buy more crops at the support price.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA did not get the expected support in rural areas. BJP suffered a major setback in Haryana and Rajasthan. In view of this, it is now expected that the Finance Minister may also increase the budgetary allocation for the schemes playing an important role in rural development in the budget.
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi
It is believed that this ambitious scheme of the Modi government helped the BJP a lot in gaining a foothold among the farmers. The amount of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, which was started in the year 2019, has not been increased even once till now. Currently, farmers get Rs 6,000 per year. In the budget, the government can increase it to Rs 8,000 annually.
Kisan credit card
Currently, under the Kisan Credit Card, agricultural loan up to Rs 3 lakh is available at 7% interest rate, which includes a subsidy of 3%. That is, farmers get this loan at 4% interest rate. In view of the increase in inflation and agricultural cost, the government can increase the loan limit from three lakh to 5 lakh rupees.
PM Kusum Scheme
Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme, the government is providing solar pumps to farmers at 75 percent subsidy. PM KUSUM scheme has proved to be a boon for small farmers and now they do not have to burn expensive diesel to cook crops. The government can also allow the use of solar systems installed under PM-KUSUM scheme for domestic purposes apart from agriculture. Also, an increase in the subsidy amount can be expected under this scheme.
Tax cuts on agricultural equipment
Farmers’ organizations are opposing the GST on agricultural equipment. They demand that the government remove GST on agricultural equipment or give the benefit of input tax credit (ITC). In the budget, the government can decide to reduce GST rates on agricultural equipment or give more subsidy. A positive message will go among farmers across the country that the government is working seriously on agriculture.
Tags: Budget session, Business news, FM Nirmala Sitharaman, Kisan credit card, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 21, 2024, 16:50 IST