Union Cabinet approves 7 schemes worth about Rs 14,000 crore for agri sector

New Delhi, September 2

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The Union Cabinet on Monday approved the digital agriculture mission with combined outlay of Rs 14,000 crore, which is aimed at climatic resilient agriculture and improving farmers' income.

The outlay for seven big-ticket programmes related to the farming sector, includes a Rs 2,817-crore digital agriculture mission and a Rs 3,979-crore scheme for crop science.

These announcements were made by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after the meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A Rs 2,291-crore programme for strengthening agricultural education and management has been approved, the minister said, adding a Rs 1,702-crore scheme has also been cleared for sustainable livestock health and their production.

Another major scheme worth Rs 860 crore was cleared by the Cabinet for sustainable development for horticulture.

Other decisions taken by the Cabinet pertains to strengthening Krish Vigyan Kendra (Rs 1,202 crore), and Natural Resource Management (Rs 1,115 crore).

The total allocation for all the sevens adds up to over Rs 13,960 crore.

The cabinet also cleared the construction of Indore-Manmad rail line of 309 km which will provide connectivity with JNPT port. Initially, it will be a single line project and will later be converted to double line.

Meanwhile, the government approved a proposal of Kaynes to set up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat with 6.3 million chips per day capacity, entailing an investment of Rs 3,307 crore.

“Today, the Cabinet has approved Kaynes' plant, with a capacity of 6.3 million chips per day. The plant will come up in 46 acres, it is a big plant and large portion of the production will go for Kaynes Industries, it has already been booked,” the minister said.

The plant will also cater to chips related to the power sector. The company has already acquired land in Sanand, Gujarat for the project, and construction will start soon.

The proposed investment for the unit is about Rs 3,307 crore.

“Power related chips..chips used in automobiles and home appliances, will also be produced in this plant,” Vaishnaw said. — with PTI