Cabinet approves Rs 4,458 crore scheme to boost dairy sector, benefitting 95 lakh farmers

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved Rs 4,458 crore scheme to boost the dairy sector which will benefit 95 lakh farmers, said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. Addressing an event in the national capital, Javadekar said that the Cabinet has approved the launch of the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission which will cover the all rural areas as well.

The Cabinet has also approved the elevation of Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG) in Gujarat as Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics. It also gave a nod to the creation of the 22nd Law Commission.

The Cabinet also decided to make the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) voluntary for farmers, said Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. He added that the decision was taken in the cabinet meeting following some complaints regarding the scheme launched in April 2016.

PMFBY is compulsory for loanee farmers availing crop loan and Kishan Credit Card (KCC) account for notified crops, while it is voluntary for others. The scheme provides comprehensive crop insurance from pre-sowing to the post-harvest period against non-preventable natural risks at extremely low premium rates of 2 per cent for Kharif crops, 1.5 per cent for rabi crops and 5 per cent for horticulture and commercial crops.

The cabinet also gave its sanction of Rs 6,000 crore for the Farmer Producers` Organisation (FPO) as the government has a target of creating 1,000 FPOs in the next five years.