Just two days prior to Diwali, Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday (12 November 2020) has announced a Rs 65,000-crore fertilizer subsidy for the farmers in India as part of her stimulus package to boost the economy.
Sitharaman said Rs 65,000 crore is being offered to ensure sufficient availability of fertilizers to the growers and to enable timely accessibility of fertilizers in the impending crop season.
14 crore farmers will be benefited
She said that the use of manure in 2016-17 was 499 MT. It is expected to increase to 673 metric tons in 2020-21. 140 million or 14 crore farmers will get benefits due to higher supply of fertilizers and subsidies.
The Finance Minister told that an additional outlay of Rs 10,000 crore will be given for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rozgar Yojana in the current financial year. She said this will accelerate the growth of the rural economy.
Sitharaman further told that Rs 3,000 crore will be released to EXIM Bank for the promotion of ‘Project Exports’ through lines of credits. It must be noted that EXIM Bank extends the lines of credits (LOC) on behalf of the Central government as assistance to developing nations under Indian Development & Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) Scheme.