Agriculture, allied sectors to get ₹72,659 crore

Hyderabad : Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, presenting the full budget for the financial year 2024-25 on Thursday, said that the State government has proposed Rs 72,659 crore for the agriculture and allied sectors to boost the contribution of the agriculture sector to the State’s GDP.

Presenting the full budget, the Finance Minister said, “Currently, Agriculture and Allied Sectors has a contribution of 15.8 per cent to Gross State Value Added (GSVA). At current prices, GSVA of Agriculture and Allied Sectors has increased to four per cent in 2023-24 as compared with 2022-23”. However, the sector’s employment stands at 47.3 per cent.

Laying out the government’s policies for the agriculture sector, he said that strengthening the finances of farmers is a prerequisite. For this, he said that farmers have to be provided two kinds of assistance. “The first is to provide an assured capital for his investment in agriculture and the second is to provide security and remunerative prices to his crops.”

Against this backdrop, Congress promised to implement a Farm Loan Waiver (FLW) of up to Rs 2 lakh. Notwithstanding the financial distress in the State, the state government is systematically garnering the necessary funds of Rs 31,000 crore needed to implement the scheme.

“On July 18, 2024, the government transferred Rs 6,035 crore into the accounts of 11.34 lakh farmers towards FLW. The rest of the loans up to Rs 2 lakh also will be waived off soon,” he added.