Budget 2013: 27,049 Crore Outlay For Agriculture Ministry

New Delhi: In order to boost food production, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram proposed an outlay of 27,049 crore for the agriculture ministry, up 22 percent over the revised estimates of 2012-13.

"The outlay for agriculture ministry will be 27,049 crore," said the finance minister while presenting the union budget 2013-14. "Out of this, 3,415 crore will go for agricultural research," he said.

The finance minister also set apart 10,000 crore for the National Food Security Act, which the government hopes to pass in the current session.

"I hope the National Food Security Bill will be passed by parliament as early as possible as food security is as much a basic human right as the right to education or the right to health care," he said.

The finance minister also proposed 1,000 crore to continue support to the new green revolution in eastern states like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal to increase the rice production.

Under the budget outlay, the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana gets 9,954 crore and 2,250 crore have been proposed for the National Food Security Mission.

He also proposed 500 crore for starting a programme of crop diversification.

To provide relief to small and marginal farmers, especially in drought prone and ecologically-stressed regions, he increased allocation for the Integrated Watershed Programme to 5,387 crore from 3,050 crore.

Stating that foodgrain production this year will be over 250 million tonnes, the finance minister thanked the farmers for their hard work and said the agricultural credit target has been increased to 7 lakh crore from 5.75 lakh crore.

The finance minister also proposed a matching equity grants to registered farmer producer organisations (FPOs) up to a maximum of 10 lakh per FPO to enable them to leverage working capital from financial institutions.

For this purpose, an outlay of 50 crore has been made, he said.

Besides, a credit guarantee fund will also be created in the Small Farmers' Agri Business Corporation with an initial corpus of 100 crore, he said.

Chidambaram also proposed 307 crore for the National Livestock Mission which will be launched in 2013-14 to attract investment and to enhance productivity taking into account the local agro-climatic conditions.

Highlights of Union Budget 2013-14
Union Budget 2013: Govt Targets 55,814 Cr from PSU Stake Sale Next Fiscal