Budget '18: Agri sector gets a big boost

With agriculture being a key focus in this year's Union Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced a number of schemes and measures that are expected to benefit the agriculture sector, and also help the Centre in realizing their mission to double farmers' income in the near future.

Here are some key highlights for the agriculture sector:

-Institutional credit for agriculture proposed to be raised to Rs 11 Lakh Crore for 2018-19.

- The government has announced a Rs 10,000 crore allocation for fisheries, aquaculture and animal husbandry funds.

- The government has proposed setting up of an agricultural market fund of Rs 2,000 crore.

- Government proposes to launch Operation Green for which a sum of Rs 500 crore will be allocated.

- Minimum Support Price (MSP) for kharif crops will now be 1.5 times the production cost. If market prices are lower than MSP, it is the government's duty to make sure farmers get their due.

These measures, Jaitley believes, will largely benefit the farming sector.