Priorities of this Budget

• Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman listed seven priorities of the Union Budget and said that they complement each other and act as the 'Saptarishi' guiding us through the Amrit Kaal. They are as follows:

1. Inclusive Development
2. Reaching the Last Mile
3. Infrastructure and Investment
4. Unleashing the Potential
5. Green Growth
6. Youth Power
7. Financial Sector

Priority 1: Inclusive Development

Agriculture and Cooperation

• Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture

• The Digital Public infrastructure for agriculture will be built as an open source, open standard and inter operable public good. This will enable
• Inclusive, farmer-centric solutions through relevant information services for crop planning and health,
• Improved access to farm inputs, credit, and insurance,
• Help for crop estimation,
• Market intelligence, and
• Support for growth of agri-tech industry and start-ups.

• Agriculture Accelerator Fund: The FM announces that an Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be set-up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas.

• Aim: To bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers.
• It will also bring in modern technologies to transform agricultural practices, increase productivity and profitability.

• Enhancing productivity of cotton crop: To enhance the productivity of extra-long staple cotton, Government will adopt a cluster-based and value chain approach through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). This will mean collaboration between farmers, state and industry for input supplies, extension services, and market linkages.
• Atmanirbhar Horticulture Clean Plant Programme: The Government will launch an Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme to boost availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high value horticultural crops at an outlay of Rs 2,200 crore.

Global Hub for Millets: 'Shree Anna':

• “India is at the forefront of popularizing Millets, whose consumption furthers nutrition, food security and welfare of farmers”.
• India is the largest producer and second largest exporter of 'Shree Anna' in the world as it grows several types of 'Shree Anna' such as jowar, ragi, bajra, kuttu, ramdana, kangni, kutki, kodo, cheena, and sama.
• Agriculture Credit: Dwelling on welfare measures for farmers, the Finance Minister announced that the agriculture credit target will be increased to Rs 20 lakh crore with focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.

Cooperation:

• A new Ministry of Cooperation was formed with a mandate to realize the vision of 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi'.
• To realise this vision, the government has already initiated computerization of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with an investment of Rs 2,516 crore.