Page 6 - Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Centre to reach 15 mn farmers via seed campaign by June 12: Chouhan

The Centre will launch a national campaign from May 29 to June 12 to promote new seed varieties and farm technologies across 700 districts, reaching up to 15 million farmers

Indus Treaty a mistake, govt to draw water use plan: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

After suspending the Indus Water Treaty, the Centre will frame short-, mid- and long-term plans to utilise river waters for irrigation in border states, says Chouhan

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

Govt to launch nationwide farm awareness drive from May 29: Shivraj Chouhan

With ensuing kharif sowing season, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday announced a pan-India 15-days campaign starting May 29, to create awareness among 1-1.5 crore farmers about modern technology and new seed varieties. The campaign named 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan' is scheduled during the May 29-June 12 period and the target is to reach out to 1-1.5 crore farmers across 700 districts in the country. The Centre in association with states will form 2,000 teams comprising farm scientists, officials and progressive farmers, among others. Each team will have three meetings every day at district level. The aim is to reach out to 10-12 lakh farmers every day. Addressing a National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign here, Chouhan stressed on improving agriculture extension services to boost productivity and production of all major crops. He emphasized on making available new technologies and research work done in labs to farmers' fields within a fi

India urges global focus on small farmers at Brics agriculture meet

India on Friday pitched for placing small and marginal farmers at the centre of global agricultural strategies, saying they cannot face climate change, price volatility and resource scarcity challenges alone. Speaking at the 15th BRICS Agriculture Ministers meeting in Brazil, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said global food security goals would remain unfulfilled unless small farmers are protected and empowered. "We cannot leave smallholders to fight these challenges alone. They need our policy support," Chouhan said, describing agriculture as not merely an economic activity but a source of "livelihood, food, and dignity" for millions. Chouhan presented cluster-based farming, farmer producer organisations, cooperative models and natural farming as effective approaches for empowering small farmers and improving their market access, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement. The meeting underscored the need for fair agricultural trade, control of global price volatility

Shivraj Singh Chouhan visits farms in Brazil; praises mechanised farming techniques | Agriculture

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited tomato farm in Sao Paulo, Brazil and hailed the mechanised farming techniques.

India, Brazil can boost global food security: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that joint efforts of India and Brazil could play an important role in strengthening global food security. During a meeting with 27 members of Brazil's agribusiness community in Sao Paulo, Chouhan praised the widespread use of machinery in Brazilian agriculture, particularly in cotton and soybean harvesting, and expressed hope for cooperation in these areas, according to an official statement. The minister discussed possibilities for promoting agricultural trade between the two countries, exchanging improved production techniques, adopting advanced food processing methods and cooperating on biofuel production, technological innovation and supply chain integration. The President of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce noted that while India-Brazil agricultural trade currently amounts to USD 2-3 billion, it has the potential to reach USD15-20 billion. Brazil mainly exports fertilisers, soybeans, food crops, sugar, meat and ...

Shivraj Chouhan urges Dallewal to end hunger strike, reaffirms May 4 talks

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday appealed to farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to end his hunger strike, saying that Union ministers will meet representatives of farmers' organisations for talks on May 4 as previously scheduled. In a post on X, Chouhan said, "The ongoing dialogue between the representatives of the Government of India and the representatives of farmers' organizations regarding their demands is continuing. Farmer leader Shri Jagjit Singh Dallewal has now returned from hospital and we wish him a speedy recovery. We also request him to end his hunger strike and we will meet with the representatives of the farmers' organizations for talks at 11 am on May 4 as per the already decided date." Chouhan's appeal comes days after Dallewal, the convener of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political), clarified that he has not ended his hunger strike, which has now continued for 139 days. Dallewal has been fasting to press for farmers' demands, including a

Modi govt taking several steps to increase farm income: Shivraj Chouhan

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the Modi government is taking several steps to increase farm income and has insulated farmers from high fertiliser prices in the international markets. "Our vision is to increase farm income and we will leave no stone unturned to achieve that vision. Farmer welfare is Modi government's guarantee," Chouhan said during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha. He said the Modi government is giving Rs 6,000 per month to farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. To a question by SP member Anand Bhadauria on whether the government will waive farm loans, Chouhan said "several steps are being taken by the Modi government to increase farm income, as well as to increase production, to reduce the cost of production and helping them to sell their produce. Farm loans are increasing, and under Modi (government), income of farmers is continuously increasing." Chouhan further said that fertiliser prices have been increasing in the ...

Centre hikes non-urea fertiliser subsidies with allocation of Rs 37K cr

Says FY25 subsidy now totals Rs 1.91 trn versus BE of Rs 1.68 trn

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

Removal of 20% onion export duty to boost farmers' income: Shivraj Chouhan

The government's decision to withdraw 20 per cent customs duty on onion exports effective April 1 will boost farmers' income, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday. "There will be no duty on onion export so that onion grown by our farmers with hard work reaches the global markets, and they can get better price and remunerative price," Chouhan said in a video statement. The minister said the export duty was earlier fixed at 40 per cent, but was reduced to 20 per cent when onion prices started falling and farmers began getting lower returns. "Now, the government has decided that 20 per cent export duty should also be removed completely," he added. According to a notification issued last week by the Finance Ministry, the export duty withdrawal will come into effect from April 1. Chouhan said the Narendra Modi government is "farmer-friendly" and ensuring remunerative prices for farmers is its "priority and commitment". The export duty removal aims to protect domes

Next round of talks with protesting farmers on May 22, says Chouhan

Chouhan also said farmers are the food providers, serving the farmers is like worshipping God for us, this is the view of the BJP

Farmer leaders detained as Centre fixes next round for talks on May 4

It was the seventh round of talks between the two sides since February last year

Farmer leaders detained as Centre fixes next round for talks on May 4

It was the seventh round of talks between the two sides since February last year

Talks with farmers to continue, next meeting on May 4: Shivraj Chouhan

The talks were held to discuss the various demands raised by the farmers, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops, among others

Defamation case: SC exempts Shivraj Chouhan from personal appearance

The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its earlier order exempting Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from personal appearance before a trial court in connection with a criminal defamation case lodged against him by Congress MP Vivek Tankha. Tankha, also a senior advocate, has alleged that the union minister and BJP state president V D Sharma and former minister Bhupendra Singh carried out a "coordinated, malicious, false and defamatory" campaign against him for political mileage, accusing him of opposing OBC reservation in the 2021 Panchayat election in Madhya Pradesh. A bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal deferred to March 26 the hearing on a plea of Chouhan and two other BJP leaders. The top court was hearing the appeal of Chouhan against the October 25 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court refusing to quash the defamation case. While Chouhan was represented by senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, Tankha was represented by senior lawyer Kapil Si

Centre with farmers without any discrimination, says Shivraj Chouhan

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the Centre will not discriminate against farmers from any state, be it from Kerala or Karnataka, if a natural disaster strikes. Replying to supplementaries in the Lok Sabha, Chouhan said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government will leave no stone unturned to ensure the welfare of farmers. "A farmer is a farmer, be it from Kerala, Karnataka or any other part of the country. We all are children of Mother India and there is no scope for any discrimination against anyone," Chouhan said in response to a question from Congress member Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Vadra had sought an update on the implementation of the Vidarbha package, under which Kerala's Wayanad, Palakkad and Kasargod districts were also included, for farmers. Chouhan said the Centre had stepped in to purchase red chilli for more than Rs 11,000 per quintal when its prices had declined in the wholesale markets. The Centre had approved a ..

Strict action to be taken if MGNREGA funds misused, norms violated: Shivraj

The government on Tuesday warned of strict action if MNREGA funds were misused or the guidelines for the implementation of the scheme were not followed. The remarks came after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal alleged in the Lok Sabha that MNREGA funds were being misused in several states, including Punjab. "Rather than being routed through panchayats, the funds are being diverted by the state governments and are being misused," she alleged. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said strict action will be taken in such cases. "Wherever guidelines are not being followed, funds are found to be misused, and rules violated, I assure (you) that we will send teams to investigate, and strict action will be taken," he said. During the Question Hour, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee engaged in a war of words with the treasury bench members in the Lok Sabha over the "stoppage" of MNREGA funds for West Bengal. Banerjee alleged that the benefits of the MNREGA

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 ..