NEW DELHI:In a sharp riposte to the Congress Party's criticism over the performance of the agriculture sector, the BJP has in its factsheet highlighted that the growth rate in recent years is much stronger and steadier, backed by the government's higher budgetary support, than during 2004 to 2014 when the UPA was in power.
"The UPA regime from 2004 to 2014 was the epitome of volatility for Indian agriculture. The growth of Agriculture and allied sectors GDP stood at 5.1 per cent in 2005-06, but the sector declined by 0.1 per cent in 2008-09, highlighting how the Congress miserably failed in its agricultural ventures, " the factsheet said.
"Any claims of agricultural stagnation under the NDA are outrightly false, as India's agriculture sector has exhibited strong growth in recent years, with an average annual increase of 5 per cent from FY17 to FY23. Further in the first and second quarters of 2024-25, the agriculture sector recorded growth rates of 2 per cent and 3.5 per cent, indicating a strong growth in the sector, " it further states.
The factsheet highlights that the financial situation of farmers is on an upward trajectory, with an annual increase of 5.23 per cent in agricultural income over the past decade. Despite a one-off fall in employment rate during the pandemic, the NDA Government spearheaded a strong recovery, with the unemployment rate now falling to 3.2 per cent, far below the pre-pandemic levels of 6 per cent even.
It also states that while Congress betrayed farmers, the NDA is ensuring that MSP is 1.5 times the average cost of production regularly.
The landmark PM KISAN scheme, just one of the various measures, has benefited 11 crore annadatas between 2019 and 2024, with over Rs 3.45 lakh crore in disbursements done through DBT (direct benefit transfer). Farmers’ purchasing capacity has jumped significantly over the past decade. In 2013-14, the total agricultural credit in India stood at just Rs 7.3 lakh crore. In less than a decade, this has more than tripled to Rs 25.48 lakh crore in 2023-24, the factsheet added.
It further states that the Kisan Credit Card scheme has been made more expansive by the NDA, as the benefits have also been extended to farmers in the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries sectors in 2018-19, something not previously there under the UPA.
The National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and the Modified NAIS, the UPA's initiatives for crop insurance, only offered limited coverage and a meagre allocation of Rs 2, 151 crore in 2013-2014. The PMFBY, has a humongous budget in comparison and is way more inclusive than the NAIS. In 2023-24, the NDA Government allocated a budget of Rs 13, 625 crore for the scheme, six times more than the Congress, the factsheet observes.
Besides, until 2014, only 318 Farmer Producer Organizations had been registered by the UPA. The NDA Government introduced the Central Sector Scheme of 'Formation and Promotion of 10, 000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)' in 2021, with an outlay of Rs 6, 865 crore. As of August 2024, there are 8, 875 FPOs in the country, a monumental jump from the UPA days, it states.
The factsheet also highlights the narrowing of the gap between urban and rural areas on consumption expenditure which reflects an improvement in living conditions.
PM-KISAN introduced in 2018 provides Rs 6, 000 annually to small and marginal farmers, with over 11 crore beneficiaries as of 2024. A total amount of Rs 3.46 lakh crore, through 18 instalments has been disbursed. More than 85 per cent of small and marginal farmers are beneficiaries under the scheme. The government's Aadhaar and DBT systems have streamlined the distribution process, minimising corruption and delays.
Furthermore, over Rs 34 lakh crore has been transferred through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to more than 1, 167 crore beneficiaries, ensuring timely, transparent, and corruption-free disbursement of welfare funds.
At the all-India level, the urban-rural gap in Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) has declined to 71 per cent in 2022-23 from 84 per cent in 2011-12 and it has further reduced to 70 per cent in 2023-24. The average MPCE in rural and urban India in 2023-24 has been estimated to be Rs 4, 122 and Rs 6, 996, respectively without taking into account the values of items received free of cost by the households through various social welfare programmes, the factsheet added.