Jaitley proposes agri sector outlay of Rs. 10 lakh crore for FY18

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday announced various initiatives in the agriculture sector with a total outlay of Rs. 10 lakh crore for FY18.

Jaitley in his speech led maximum focus on providing adequate and seamless flow of credit to farmers, particularly the small and marginal ones.

"To cover farmers from losses due to natural calamities the crop insurance coverage under the Fasal Bima Yojna will be increased from 30 percent of cropped area to 40 percent in FY18," he announced.

He also announced that post demonetization there were farmers who were left stranded with little cash to buy seeds, while the govt. made provisions for them to buy seeds with the old Rs. 500 notes from outlets administered by the government and public sector units.

The FM also reiterated other initiatives, which have been announced over the last few months to trim the final borrowing rates for farmers.

One such is NABARD, which expanded by Rs. 20,000 crore from the current Rs. 20,000 crore to allow the refinance agency to lend at cheaper rates to rural banks.

Also, he announced that more than 40 percent of small and marginal farmers' loan needs are met through the cooperative credit structure, which will benefit through these additional resources.