Three northeastern districts awarded in Centre's flagship schemes

Three districts in Assam, Tripura and Mizoram got awards for the execution of the central government's flagship schemes in agriculture and the power sector, officials said on Saturday.

According to an official from the Tripura government's agriculture department, Gomati district in southern Tripura got the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) award for its success in crop insurance.

The scheme was launched in January 2016 to reduce the recurrence of agricultural distress and resolve farmers' problems in times of difficulty.

The official said that Siaha district of southern Mizoram got the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) award for its performance in irrigation.

The PMKSY was launched in July 2015 for a period of five years (2015-16 to 2019-20) to enhance the government's investment in irrigation, expand cultivable area under assured irrigation (har khet ko pani), improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water and adoption of water saving technologies.

Rs 50,000 crore have been allocated for the flagship scheme over a period of five years.

An official in Guwahati said Sivasagar district of eastern Assam got the award in implementing Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the DDUGJY in July 2015 in Patna as one of the flagship programmes of the Ministry of Power to facilitate 24x7 supply of power in rural areas and meet the requirement of electricity for agricultural purposes.

According to the officials, the three districts got the awards in the North-East and Hill states category.

Each award-winning district was given a trophy, a citation and Rs 10 lakh cash at a function by the Prime Minister in New Delhi on Friday.

--IANS

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