Agri research to focus on raising productivity, climate resilient varieties, says Sitharamanan

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that Agriculture research will be transformed to focus on raising productivity and climate resilient varieties.

Sitharaman made the announcement while presenting her seventh consecutive budget, eclipsing the late Moraji Desai’s record of six consecutive budgets, who presented five annual budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964 as finance minister. Desai, however, holds the record of presenting the most numbers of budgets at 10.

“Our first priority is productivity and resilience in agriculture,” said the FM as she approved Rs 1.52 lakh crore for agri and allied sectors.

She said in the next two years, 1 crore farmers will be initiated into natural farming.

“The govt will release 109 varieties off 32 Crops ..will help natural farmers with certification and branding,” she added.

To ensure self-sufficiency in pulses and oil seeds, she said the government will focus on production, storage and marketing.

The government will set up 10,000 need-based bio resource centres, added the finance minister.

This was the much-awaited full budget for 2024-25, the first under the Modi 3.0 government.

Sitharamam had in February presented the interim budget, which took care of the financial needs of the intervening period until a government was formed after the Lok Sabha polls.

Sitharaman, who will turn 65 next month, was appointed as India’s first full-time woman finance minister in 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a decisive second term. Since then, she has presented six straight budgets, including an interim one in February this year.

The budget session of Parliament began on July 22 and, according to schedule, will end on August 12.

With inputs from agencies