Budget 2015: FM allots Rs 15K cr for long term rural credit fund

FM Jaitley announced an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore for long term rural credit fund, Rs 45,000 crore for short term cooperative rural credit refinance fund and Rs 15,000 crore for short term RRB (regional rural banks) refinance fund.

To boost irrigation and soil health, Jaitley said, "Our commitment to farmers runs deep. We have already taken major steps to address two major factors critical to the agriculture production - soil and water.

"I propose to support the Agriculture Ministry's organic farm scheme 'Parampara Krishi Vikas Yojana' and 'Pradhan Mantri Gram Sichai Yojana (PMGSY)'. I am allocating Rs 5,300 crore to support micro irrigation watershed programmes and PMGSY," he said and urged states to chip in substantially in this vital sector.

He assured that the government will endeavour to enhance allocations to PMGSY by Rs 3,000 crore during the year. PMGSY is aimed at irrigating the field of every farmer and improving the water usage efficiency to provide per drop more crop, while ambitious soil health card has been launched to improve soil fertility on sustainable basis, he added.

Jaitley also proposed setting up of a Post Graduate Institute of Horticulture in Amritsar, Punjab. The government's pre-budget economic document had also emphasised on setting up of a national common market for agriculture and suggested the government to make "every effort" to bring states on board and even use Constitutional provisions if states do not support this move.

Welcoming the Budget proposals, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said, "The measures announced are aimed at improving efficiency of various farm programmes and also increasing farm productivity, irrigation and farm income." Ashok Gulati, former chief of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), said that Budget is a "mixed bag" as measures are not sufficient to achieve the targeted 4 percent farm growth in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17).