In the finance ministry’s third briefing on the Narendra Modi government’s economic package to combat the impact of COVID-19, the focus was on agriculture and allied activities.
Among schemes to promote Indian products, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned turmeric as one of the products the government could brand and promote referring to the West’s apparent fondness for turmeric lattes.
The mention of this came during the announcement of a Rs 10,000 crore scheme for the formalisation of Micro Food Enterprises (MFE). The scheme is supposed to promote the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘vocal for local with global outreach’, the finance ministry said.
It would focus on promoting organic, health and nutritional products with a cluster-based approach, Sitharaman said.
Examples included Bihar’s makhana, Kashmir’s kesar, chilli from Andhra Pradesh, turmeric from Telangana, bamboo shoots from the northeast and mangoes from Uttar Pradesh. The scheme would include branding and promoting these clusters.
“Telangana can have help in turmeric as turmeric latte is big outside and turmeric is rich in this country,” Sitharaman said.
Two lakh MFEs are supposed to benefit from this scheme.
This was among the eleven measures Sitharaman announced, of which eight related to infrastructure, capacities and building better logistics, while the rest pertained to governance and administrative reforms.
Sitharaman said the government would provide Rs 1 lakh crore for agriculture infrastructure fund.
The government said it would bring in a law to implement agriculture marketing reforms to provide marketing choices to farmers. “The law will provide adequate choices to farmer to sell produce at attractive price.”
Sitharaman said the government will also amend the Essential Commodities Act to “enable better price realisation for farmers.” Agriculture food stuffs including cereals, edible oils, oilseeds, pulses, onions and potato will be deregulated, she said.
The minister announced a new scheme to provide interest subvention at 2% per annum to dairy cooperatives for 2020-21. The scheme will unlock Rs 5000 crore additional liquidity and benefit to 2 crore farmers, she said.
The government will launch a Rs 20,000 crore Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for development of marine and inland fisheries. Fifty-five lakh people expected to get employment from this program, Sitharaman said.
Minimum Support Price purchases of more than Rs 74,300 crore were made during lockdown. Rs 18,700 crore was transferred to farmers under PM-Kisan Yojana, the minister said.
An Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund of Rs 15,000 crores will be set up, the government said.
Rs 4000 crore has been allocated for promotion of herbal cultivation, 10 lakh hectare will be covered in the next 2 years, Sitharaman announced.
The government also said it would implement a scheme for infrastructure development related to beekeeping, aimed at increasing the income for 2 lakh beekeepers “with special thrust on capacity building of women”.
The National Medicinal Plants Board will bring 800-hectare area by developing a corridor of medicinal plants along the banks of river Ganga, Sitharaman announced.
National Animal Disease Control Programme has been launched with total outlay of Rs. 13,343 crores for 100% vaccination of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig population in India, the minister said.
Sitharaman was asked for a breakdown of the Rs 20 lakh crore package, how much of it was part of the existing Union budget, to which she replied, asking the media to wait a few days till all the announcement were made. “I don’t want to take up too much your time... I don’t want to burden you with details.”
On Thursday, former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram had said the government was including liquidity measures with the fiscal stimulus package. The government in its press conference on Friday said this was in line with economic packages announced across the world.