New Delhi [India], June 6 (ANI): The Union Finance Ministry said on Monday it has released Rs 7,183.42 crore as post devolution revenue deficit grant to 14 states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.

New Delhi [India], April 13 (ANI): The Centre has released Rs 2,94,718 crore to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state governments for food subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and National Food Security Act (NFSA) during 2021-22, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said on Wednesday.

New Delhi [India], March 25 (ANI): Centre on Friday told Rajya Sabha that over 29 lakh farmers have benefitted from the Pradhan Mantra Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) since the inception of its respective component schemes.

New Delhi [India], March 24 (ANI): The Centre on Thursday assured the Rajya Sabha that all aspects linked to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, including impact on trade, are being examined by a group of different Ministries led by the Union Finance Ministry.

New Delhi Feb 24 PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday nudged private corporates to shun imports and buy oilseeds produced locally by providing offtake assurance to farmers creating a win-win situation for both India he said is looking to jack up edible oil production by about 50 per cent in the next 3-4 years Modi said there is a huge potential to expand cultivation of palm oil under the National Mission on Edible Oil Addressing a webinar on the positive impact of the Union Budget 2022 on the agriculture sector the Prime Minister said investors should come forward to promote crop diversification Citing examples of oilseeds and pulses Modi said There is a huge demand for these pulses and oilseeds in our country The corproate world should come forward There is an assured market for you corporates What is the need for import The businesses the Prime Minister said can tell in advance to farmers about how much quantities of pulses and oilseeds they would purchase He noted that the agriculture insurance system already provides protection against crop losses The Prime Minister further stressed on the need to study Indias food requirement We all need to work together to ensure that whatever food items we need they get produced in India only he said The government has set a target to increase domestic production of edible oil by 50 per cent in the next 3-4 years Modi said and emphasised on achieving the target within time A programme to increase oil palm cultivation has already been launched he added It is to be noted that India imports 60-65 per cent of its edible oil requirement As per industry data the countrys edible oil import bill shot up to Rs 117 lakh crore in 2020-21 oil year ending October 2021 compared to nearly Rs 72000 crore in the previous year due to rise in global prices Modi also exhorted Indian business houses to help in branding and promotion of Indian millets core cereals which have high nutritional value Year 2023 has been declared as International Year of Millets He also talked about a huge opportunity for the corporate world in the field of nano-fertiliser which is going to be a game changer as well as food processing and ethanol manufacturing Modi also called on startups and private investors to create a pan-India network of soil testing labs He said there is a need to create awareness among farmers about the importance of regular soil testing of their farm land The Union Budget 2022-23 he said focuses on making Indian agriculture modern and smart He noted that artificial intelligence AI is going to completely change agriculture and trade related to farming in the 21st century Modi said the governments objective is to increase farmers income reduce input cost and provide modern facilities to farmers He also asked corporates to create a system where all agricultural equipment could be provided to farmers on rent The Prime Minister also asked agriculture universities and farm scientists to make efforts to create awareness about natural and organic farming Modi highlighted that in the last seven years his government has initiated many new systems and improved the old ones for the entire agriculture value chain from seed to market He said the agriculture budget has increased manifold in just six years and farm loans have also been increased by 25 times in seven years The Prime Minister said the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme has become a strong support for the small farmers of the country Under the scheme almost Rs 175 lakh crore has been given to 11 crore farmers The Centre provides Rs 6000 annually to farmers in three equal installments under this scheme During the difficult period of the pandemic he noted that 3 crore farmers were given Kisan Credit Cards KCC as part of the special drive Micro irrigation network has also been strengthened to the great benefit of the small farmers the Prime Minister said Due to these governments efforts Modi said farmers have produced record foodgrains and added that new records have been created in MSP purchases too Stating that the government is also encouraging organic farming the Prime Minister said that the market for organic products has reached Rs 11000 crore with exports rising to more than Rs 7000 crore from Rs 2000 crore six years ago The Prime Minister asked for leveraging increasing awareness for an environmentally friendly lifestyle and resulting market for natural and organic products Referring to the Budget he said it focuses on making Indian agriculture modern and smart and elaborated on the seven ways in which the Budget proposes to achieve this These include promoting natural farming along the Ganges ensuring modern technology in agriculture and horticulture and new logistics arrangements for the transportation of agricultural products The focus will be on better organisation of agri-waste management and increasing farmers income through waste to energy solutions he added The budget also stresses that agri research and education syllabus will be updated as per demands of modern times with regard to skill development and human resource development Emphasising innovations in the irrigation field the Prime Minister underlined the governments focus on per drop more crop He said there are many possibilities for the corporate world in this too Modi noted that artificial intelligence AI is going to completely change the agriculture sector and trade related to agriculture in the 21st century Increasing use of drones in farming is part of this change Drone technology will be available on a scale only when we promote agri-startups In the last 3-4 years more than 700 agri startups have been created in the country he added He also spoke about the need for better post-harvest management and boosting the level of food processing The Prime Minister emphasised on better management of agri-residue parali For this some new measures have been taken in this budget due to which carbon emission will be reduced and farmers will also get income he said The Prime Minister also touched upon the potential in the field of ethanol where the government is moving ahead with a goal of 20 per cent blending The blending has reached near 8 per cent compared to 1-2 per cent in 2014 he informed Talking about the role of the cooperative sector he said Indias cooperative sector is very vibrant and needs to be turned into a successful business enterprisePTI MJH NKD ANZ MKJ MKJ

New Delhi [India], February 13 (ANI): Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy on Sunday said that the Central government has approved the release of Rs 2.5 crores for Sammakka Saralamma Jathara, the largest Tribal festival in the world.

New Delhi [India], February 7 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the Centre's Rs 3 crore package helped over 3.5 lakh MSME units, saving about 1.5 crore jobs.

New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI): The Centre collected Rs 1,38,394 crore as gross GST (Goods and Services Tax) revenue in the month of January 2022, said the Ministry of Finance on Monday.

New Delhi, December 30 (ANI) A high-level committee under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday approved additional Central assistance under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to six states which were affected by floods, landslides, and cyclones during 2021.

New Delhi Nov 23 PTI The Centre has released two instalments of tax devolution to the states amounting to Rs 95082 crore in November the Finance Ministry said on TuesdayAfter a meeting with all chief ministers and state finance ministers recently Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said the Centre will double the amount of November tax devolution by including one advance instalment to help states push their capital expenditure the Government of India has released two instalments of tax devolution to State Governments amounting to Rs 95082 Crores on November 22 2021 as against normal monthly devolution of Rs 47541 Crores the ministry said in a statementCurrently 41 per cent of the tax collected is devolved in 14 instalments among states during a fiscalThe increased amount of devolution in November is an advance release and final adjustments will be made in March 2022Rs 95082 crore of Tax devolution to strengthen fiscal space of States the statement added PTI JD BAL BAL