Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch several initiatives related to the agricultural and animal husbandry sector worth around ₹23,300 crore on Saturday during his Maharashtra visit. He will also disburse the 18th instalment of the PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi worth about ₹20,000 crore to around 9.4 crore farmers from Washim in Maharashtra.
With the 18th instalment release, the total funds released to farmers under PM-KISAN will be around ₹3.45 lakh crore. Prime Minister will also disbursethe 5th instalment of NaMo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana totalling ₹2,000 crore.
Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation more than 7,500 projects under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), worth over ₹1,920 crore. The major projects include custom hiring centres, primary processing units, warehouses, sorting and grading units, cold storage projects, post-harvest management projects among others.
Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation 9,200 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) with a combined turnover of around ₹1,300 crore.
Genomic chip for cattle
Modi will launch the Unified Genomic Chip for cattle and indigenous sex-sorted semen technology. This initiative aims to increase the availability of sex-sorted semen at affordable prices to farmers and reduce the cost by around ₹200 per dose. Unified Genomic Chip, GAUCHIP for indigenous cattle and MAHISHCHIP for buffaloes, have been developed along with genotyping services. With the implementation of genomic selection, young high-quality bulls can be identified at an early age.
Further, Prime Minister will dedicate five solar parks with a total capacity of 19 MW across Maharashtra under Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana – 2.0. During the programme, he will also honour beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana.