In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that Budget 2023 is Amritkaal's first Budget and announced a slew of measures to boost the agriculture sector.
"The agricultural credit target will be increased to Rs 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries," the finance minister said.
This set agriculture stocks soaring. The share price of Kaveri Seeds rallied 4.8 percent, Harrisons Malayalam and PI Industries rose over 2 percent and Bombay Burmah gained 1.3 percent.
"An agriculture accelerator fund will be set up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs. We will also push for digital public infrastructure for agri industry," she added.
For small and marginal farmers, the government will promote a cooperative-based model to achieve the vision of “Sahakaar se Samruudhi” by setting up 63,000 primary agricultural credit societies.
In another significant announcement, the FM said that India is the largest producer and exporter of millets. "The Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad (Indian Institute of Shri Anna), will be supported as the Centre of excellence for sharing best practices, research, and technology at an international level," she noted.
Rs 2200 crore spend for high value horticulture and Rs 6000 crore to enable further activity for fisheries were some other significant announcements in this sector.
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