Rs 10,000 cr to boost fisheries, aquaculture and animal husbandry: Budget 2018-19

Extending the facility of Kisan Credit Card to farmers engaged in fisheries, aquaculture and animal husbandry, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday allocated a dedicated fund of Rs 10,000 crore to develop the sector.

The move is expected to enhance standards of animal rearing in the country and production, even as the government in 2016 amended norms and hiked standards under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules 2016 and a similar rule for aquarium and fish tanks.

"We propose to extend Kisan Credit Card to fishery and animal husbandry farmers.

"For Fisheries and aquaculture, Animal Husbandry the government dedicates a corpus fund of Rs 10,000 crore," the Finance Minister said while presenting the 2018-10 Union Budget.

India globally ranks second in fisheries and second in aquaculture according to the National Fisheries Development Board. Considered an important sector to provide nutritional security, the fishery and aquaculture sector alone engages 14 million people, while it constitute about 1.1 percent to country's GDP and 5.15 percent to the agricultural GDP. The total fish production of 10.07 million metric tonnes.

--IANS

kd/rn