Agriculture may get 30% hike in FY17 Budget

To boost the rural sector, the Union department of agriculture is expected to get about 30 per cent higher budgetary allocation at over Rs 20,000 crore for the next financial year for implementation of key schemes, including the newly-launched crop insurance programme, news agencies reported on Wednesday.

Business Standard had reported on January 3 that agriculture and allied sectors would get a massive allocation push in Budget 2016-17.

Meanwhile, PTI reported quoting unnamed official sources that the department of agriculture has sought over Rs 27,000 crore budget for the 2016-17 fiscal keeping in view the implementation of major schemes, especially Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMSKY), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Krishi Unnati Yojana (KUY). But, it is expected to get around Rs 20,000 crore. The Department of Agriculture (DAC) has received an allocation of Rs 15,500 crore for the current fiscal against the budget estimate of Rs 16,646 crore.

"The agriculture ministry is pursuing with the finance ministry to allocate more funds in order to achieve the desired growth. It is indicated that the plan budgetary allocation for DAC may cross Rs 20,000 crore in 2016-17 fiscal," PTI added. Department of Agriculture Research and Animal Husbandry are the other two wings of the agriculture ministry. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the 2016-17 Budget on February 29. More funds are expected to be allocated for the new crop insurance scheme, PMSKY and RKVY.

However, the budget allocation for the KUY is expected to be lower at around Rs 7,000 crore in 2016-17, as against Rs 7,500 crore this year, they said. The KUY, which was launched in 2015-16 by consolidating the various on-going schemes for better implementation, has sub-schemes like soil health management, horticulture, agriculture mechanisation, seeds and extension. The agriculture ministry has informed the finance ministry that any reduction in KUY would impact implementation of sub-schemes, including soil health card programme, the sources said.

Although agriculture contributes only 13-14 per cent to the country's GDP, about 50 per cent of the population is dependent on the farm sector.