Agriculture Minister

Chinese ex-agriculture minister gets death sentence with two-year reprieve

China's former minister of agriculture and rural affairs Tang Renjian was on Sunday sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes amounting to USD 38 million. Tang, also a former secretary of the agricultural ministry's leading ruling Communist Party members' group, has been deprived of his political rights for life, the Intermediate People's Court of Changchun in northeast China's Jilin Province said in its judgment. All of Tang's personal property will be confiscated and his illegal gains from bribery recovered and turned over to the national treasury, the court said. The court stated that between 2007 and 2024, Tang took undue advantage of his various positions at both central and local levels to assist others in matters such as business operation, project contracting and job adjustment. In exchange, he accepted money and valuables totaling over 268 million yuan (about USD 38 million), state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Tang pleaded guilty and expressed .

Govt will safeguard farmers' interests in trade talks with US: Chouhan

The government will protect the interest of farmers in trade negotiations with the US, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday. "We have said clearly the country's interest is top priority. Farmers' interest will be protected," Chouhan told reporters after inaugurating the Meghalaya Pineapple Festival. The agriculture and dairy sector will be protected. "We keep in mind the country's interest while taking any decisions," he noted. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment. New Delhi has never opened the dairy sector in any of its earlier signed free trade pacts. The agri sector is politically sensitive for India, as about 700 million rural livelihoods are dependent on it. Lowering duties would also pose a risk to national food security. On Thursday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goy

Centre adds 7 new farm products to e-NAM platform for better pricing

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday announced the inclusion of an additional seven products, including Banarasi paan, on the e-NAM platform in a bid to provide more opportunities and better prices to farmers. The seven commodities include sugarcane, Marcha rice, Katarni rice, Jardalu mango, Shahi litchi, Magahi paan and Banarasi paan. With this, the total number of products on the e-NAM platform has now increased to 238. "This move will assure farmers better market access, better pricing and improved quality, thereby boosting their economic well-being," according to an official statement. The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) under the agriculture ministry has prepared tradable parameters for seven additional agri-products, which are available on the e-NAM portal (enam.gov.in). Creation of tradable parameters provides a category or range for each product and helps farmers get remunerative prices based on the quality of the produce. The new ..

Agriculture minister ends campaign, promises continued talks with farmers

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday concluded the 15-day 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan' at a Kisan Sammelan in Bardoli, Gujarat, emphasising that while the campaign was ending, the government's engagement with farmers would continue unabated. Speaking at the venue that holds historical significance as the site of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's Bardoli Satyagraha against British tax policies in 1928, Chouhan drew parallels between past and present struggles for farmers' welfare. "I feel fortunate to be on this Karmabhoomi of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. On this day, 12 June 1928, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had held a meeting for the Bardoli Satyagraha," he said. The campaign, designed to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Lab to Land' vision, deployed 2,170 teams comprising 16,000 scientists who travelled village to village across the country. These teams engaged directly with farmers, providing research-based information tailored to local climatic conditions

Govt to use Indus waters for farmers after treaty freeze: Agri minister

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said the government will make "short, mid and long term" plans to utilise waters, given to Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty, for providing irrigation facilities to farmers, especially of bordering states. He said keeping in abeyance of the Indus Water Treaty in 1960 is a "historic decision" in the interest of the country. The government suspended the decades-old treaty following the killing of 26 people, mostly tourists, in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. Calling this 1960 treaty with Pakistan a "historical mistake" by the then government, Chouhan said it led to maximum water being used by the neighbouring country. "I want to share one important fact with our farmers. There was a historical mistake, and that was the Indus Water Treaty in 1960," he said. The minister said it was unfortunate that 80 per cent water of Indian rivers, including Indus, Chenab and Jhelum, went to Pakistan due t

States can choose to include tenant farmers in farmer registry: MoS

State governments can decide on whether to include tenant and lessee farmers in their farmer registry, Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The State Farmer Registry under the Digital Agriculture Mission enables farmers to receive a unique farmer ID to access government benefits. In his written reply to the Lower House, Thakur said the State Farmer Registry covers all the landholder farmers, including women farmers. "Farmers Registry application also has the provision to onboard the tenant and lessee farmers. A state can decide to include such farmers in the Farmers Registry as per the state's policy," it said. The minister said although internet penetration has increased in rural areas, additional steps have been taken to ensure digital inclusion of farmers who do not have mobile phones, they can use existing support structures like Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Krishi Sakhis, and Common Service Centres (CSCs), to get them register

Govt recovers Rs 416 cr from ineligible farmers under PM-KISAN: Centre

Chouhan, in a written reply, said the central government has disbursed over Rs 3.68 trillion to farmers in 19 installments since inception

Govt to include farmers not part of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi yet: Shivraj

The government is ready to provide Rs 6,000 annual cash benefit under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to all eligible farmers who are not part of it yet, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. He asked all state governments to cooperate with the Centre in identifying such farmers and ensuring their inclusion in the scheme. "If anyone is left behind, please help us include all of them under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. We will ensure that such farmers also get the past instalments," Chouhan said during the Question Hour. All eligible beneficiaries must possess at least one piece of land, get eKYC done and register themselves at the PMKISAN portal, the minister said. He added that the fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000. "We will ensure that all of these farmers get their dues without even a single day of delay," he said while asserting that the Narendra Modi government is ..

Shivraj hails 'Atmanirbhar Budget', highlights farmer benefit schemes

'On one side, there is provision for Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi and on other there are provisions to provide farmers with low cost fertiliser, urea, DAP', Agriculture minister added

Govt may consider agri subsidies via direct benefit transfer: Shivraj Singh

The government is trying to bring policy-level changes for simplifying agriculture, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said and indicated that providing subsidies on fertiliser, seed and farming equipment through direct benefit transfer could be considered in the future. In an interaction with farmers, who were invited to witness the Republic Day parade as special guests, at his residence here on Monday, the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister said the government spends up to Rs 2,00,000 crore on fertiliser subsidies. "The fertiliser subsidy that the government gives costs to the tune of Rs 2,00,000 crore. A sack of urea costs Rs 265 to the farmers, but it costs Rs 2,400. The subsidy goes to the company. The fertilizer is also used for other purposes... If there is a reliable system, farmers can be given the subsidy directly in their accounts," Chouhan said. "The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi's cost comes to around Rs 60,000 crore, if the fertilizer subsidy is given throu

Delhi govt reluctant, farmers losing out on central schemes: Agri minister

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Tuesday criticised the Delhi government for not implementing several central schemes meant for farmers, calling it "extremely unfortunate" that farmers in the region were being deprived of crucial benefits. Responding to a query in the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour, Chauhan urged the Delhi government to prioritise the welfare of farmers and implement beneficial schemes, particularly in areas surrounding the national capital. "I request the Delhi government to implement farmer-centric schemes for the benefit of farmers as there is agricultural land and farming activity around Delhi," he added. "The Centre works in coordination with state governments to ensure its schemes reach farmers. It is extremely unfortunate that the Delhi government is not availing of the benefits of many schemes, which is ultimately affecting the farmers," Chauhan said. Referring to the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism for organic fertilisers, th

Modi govt will purchase all farm produce at MSP: Agri minister Shivraj

The Narendra Modi government will purchase all farm produce at minimum support price, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Rajya Sabha on Friday. He gave the assurance while answering supplementaries during Question Hour on the issue of MSP to farmers. The assertion came on a day when farmers are planning to embark on a foot march to Delhi with their demands. "I want to assure the house through you that all produce of farmers will be purchased at minimum support price. This is the Modi government and the guarantee to fulfil Modi's guarantee," Chouhan told the house. "When our friends from the other side were in power, they had stated on record that they cannot accept the M S Swaminathan Commission recommendations, especially on giving 50 per cent more than the cost of produce. I have the record," he said. He cited former MoS Agriculture Kantilal Bhuria, Agriculture Ministers Sharad Pawar, and K V Thomas to back his claim. After his remarks, Chairman Jagdeep ..

Chouhan calls for strict action against sale of spurious seeds, fertilisers

He pointed out that "farmers often complain about receiving poor-quality inputs, resulting in significant losses"

Farmers to get free seeds under new NMEO-Oilseeds initiative: Chouhan

Agri minister said govt would procure farmers' entire production of oilseeds

PM Narendra Modi to give out 1.1 million certificates to Lakhpati Didis

Chouhan said that several Didis will have their certificates delivered to their place of residence

Agriculture at the centre of India's economic policies, says PM Modi

He also mentioned a big focus on sustainable and climate-resilient farming in this year's budget, as well as developing a complete ecosystem to support India's farmers

Delay in irrigation projects costs Telangana exchequer Rs 1 trn more: CAG

The cost of 20 irrigation projects commenced between 1983 and 2018 in Telangana doubled from over Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore as on March 2023, due to non-completion, the CAG report has said. According to the report (for 2022-23) by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) which was placed in the state legislature on Friday, non-completion of projects deprives the state of the intended benefits of economic growth and there was no assurance on returns from the investments in irrigation and flood control as the state government did not disclose financial results of any of the irrigation projects. "There were 20 incomplete irrigation projects (commenced between 1983 and 2018) to be completed by the year 2023. The original cost of these projects has increased from Rs 1,02,388 crore to Rs 2,06,977 crore i.e., an escalation by Rs 1,04,589 crore (102 per cent)," the auditing watchdog said. An expenditure of Rs 1,73,564 crore was incurred on these projects as of March 2023. In ...

Agriculture key focus area of development strategy in India: NITI member

Agriculture has been a key focus area of development strategy in India, and the country has achieved the highest growth rate of 5 per cent in the farm sector during the seven years from 2016-17 to 2022-23, Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand said on Saturday. Addressing the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE), Chand said that according to the World Bank data, India achieved the highest growth rate in GDP agriculture in the world in the last 10 years. "Agriculture has been a key focus area of development strategy in India, and the country has achieved historically the highest growth rate of 5 per cent during the seven-year period from 2016-17 to 2022-23," he noted. The agriculture economist pointed out that the share of agriculture in the world GDP has risen from 3.2 per cent in 2006 to 4.3 per cent in recent years. "Agricultural growth in the last 15 years has saved many countries from economic collapse. Due to the poor effort of industry in pulling the labou

Shivraj Singh Chouhan bats for effective implementation of govt schemes

During review meetings, the minister also highlighted issues such as eligibility criteria for pension schemes and irregularities in the formation of DISHA committees

Ex-MP CM Shivraj in Bhopal today, his 1st visit after becoming Union min

Shivraj Singh Chouhan had assumed charge of Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new Cabinet on June 11