Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a special Krishi programme at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi today at 10:30 AM, where he will launch, inaugurate, and lay the foundation for projects and schemes worth over Rs 42,000 crore aimed at transforming India’s agriculture and allied sectors.
The programme highlights the government’s commitment to farmer welfare, agricultural self-reliance, and rural infrastructure development. It will focus on promoting modern farming practices, supporting farmers, and marking significant milestones in farmer-centric initiatives.
During the event, PM Modi will launch two major agricultural schemes with a combined outlay of Rs 35,440 crore. ThePM Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, with an allocation of Rs 24,000 crore, aims to boost agricultural productivity, promote crop diversification, and encourage sustainable practices across 100 selected districts. The scheme will enhance post-harvest storage at the panchayat and block levels, improve irrigation facilities, and facilitate access to short- and long-term credit for farmers.
The second initiative, the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, with an outlay of Rs 11,440 crore, is designed to achieve self-reliance in pulses by improving productivity, expanding cultivation areas, and strengthening the value chain through better procurement, storage, and processing systems to minimize losses.
PM Modi will also inaugurate and dedicate projects worth over Rs 5,450 crore in agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and food processing sectors. These include an Artificial Insemination Training Center in Bengaluru and Jammu & Kashmir, a Centre of Excellence in Amreli and Banas, an IVF Lab in Assam under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, milk powder plants in Mehsana, Indore, and Bhilwara, and a fish feed plant in Tezpur, Assam, under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. Additionally, infrastructure projects for agro-processing clusters and integrated cold chains will be launched.
The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for projects worth Rs 815 crore, including an integrated cold chain and value addition infrastructure (irradiation) in Krishna, Andhra Pradesh, trout fisheries in Uttarakhand, an integrated aqua park in Nagaland, a smart fishing harbour in Karaikal, Puducherry, and a state-of-the-art aquapark in Hirakud, Odisha.
During the programme, PM Modi will interact with farmers engaged in pulses cultivation who have benefited from government schemes, including those supported by Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund. He will also distribute certificates to farmers certified under the National Mission for Natural Farming, MAITRI (Multi-Purpose AI Technicians in Rural India) Technicians, and Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Societies (PACS) converted into Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSKs) and Common Service Centres (CSCs).
The event will celebrate key milestones, including 50 lakh farmer memberships in 10,000 FPOs, with 1,100 FPOs achieving an annual turnover of over Rs 1 crore in 2024-25. Other achievements include the certification of 50,000 farmers under the National Mission for Natural Farming, 38,000 MAITRI certifications, and the operationalization of over 10,000 multipurpose and e-PACS. Additionally, over 10,000 PACS have diversified to function as PMKSKs and CSCs, strengthening rural agricultural ecosystems.