Cabinet clears new irrigation scheme for irrigation

In a bid to insulate farmers from the vagaries of the monsoon, the government on Thursday announced a new national irrigation scheme with an outlay of Rs.50,000 crore that will not only ensure supply of water to the agricultural sector, but also promote its efficient use and prevent wastage.

The scheme will have an outlay of Rs. 50,000 crore over a period of five years beginning the current fiscal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told a press conference here. The allocation for the current financial year is Rs.5,300 crore.

The approval to the "Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana" (PMKSY) was given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Jaitley said the scheme aims to expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water and enhance the adoption of precision-irrigation and other water saving technologies.