PM Modi took a shot at the previous regime, claiming that all budgets announced during the Modi 1.0 and 2.0 governments were geared towards 'Gaon, Gareeb, and Kisan.' "The agricultural budget, which was less than 25,000 crore in 2014, has been increased to more than 1,25,000 crore today," he said.
While emphasizing India's foreign reliance on food security, PM Modi noted that "India's agricultural sector has remained distressed for a long time since independence."
He emphasized how India's farmers transformed the situation by making the country not only 'atmanirbhar' (self-sufficient), but also capable of exporting food grains. "Today, India exports many types of agricultural products," the Prime Minister said, highlighting the government's efforts to make domestic and international markets more accessible to farmers. During his speech, he praised the announcement of the PM PRANAM Yojana and Gobardhan Yojana, as well as the government's efforts to promote natural farming and reduce chemical-based farming.
PM Modi went on to say that India's goal of self-sufficiency or export should not be limited to rice or wheat, and that various decisions were being made in the budget to promote the agricultural sector so that the nation becomes 'atmanirbhar' and the money used for imports can reach the farmers.
"The goal of complete development cannot be achieved until the challenges related to the agriculture sector are eliminated. Private innovation and investment are avoiding this sector, resulting in low participation of India's youth in the agricultural sector compared to others that are experiencing active participation and growth. "Several announcements have been made in this year's budget to fill this void," Prime Minister Modi said.
PM Modi mentioned the use of the 'Digital Public Infrastructure' platform in the agriculture sector, drawing an analogy to the open platform of UPI, and noted the immense possibilities for investment and innovation in agri-tech domains. The Prime Minister noted that India now has over 3000 agri-startups, compared to almost nothing nine years ago, and urged young entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.
On the International Year of Millets (2023), which the United Nations declared following India's proposal, PM Modi stated that its international identity was to open a gateway to the global market for Indian farmers.
