The Budget has introduced six new schemes and raised the subsidised Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loan limit from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, aiming to address key challenges in agriculture, rural employment, and financial access. These measures are designed to enhance productivity, support farmers, and strengthen rural livelihoods.
One of the major highlights is the launch of the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, which focuses on 100 agricultural districts with lower productivity, moderate crop intensity, and limited credit access. Implemented in collaboration with state governments, the initiative is expected to benefit 17 million farmers through improved agricultural output, diversification, and better post-harvest infrastructure.
To tackle rural unemployment, a Rural Prosperity and Resilience programme has been announced. This initiative aims to create sustainable employment opportunities in rural areas, ensuring that migration remains a choice rather than a necessity. It will particularly focus on supporting rural women, young farmers, small and marginal landholders, and landless laborers.
In a move toward self-sufficiency in pulses production, a six-year mission will be launched to boost the cultivation of tur, urad, and masoor dal. Under this scheme, cooperatives such as Nafed and NCCF will procure pulses from registered farmers for a four-year period, ensuring stable demand and better income prospects.
Under the six years mission for attaining self-sufficiency in pulses, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the agencies – farmers cooperative NAFED and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) – will procure (at minimum support price) pulses varieties – tur, urad and masor as much as offered during the next four years from farmers “who register with these agencies and enter into agreements,”.
The key objective of the pulses mission would be to boost availability of climate resilient seeds, enhance productivity and assure remunerative prices to the farmers who grow pulses varieties, which the country imports in significant quantities.
India imports about 15% of its annual pulses consumption mostly from Canada, Russia, Australia, Myanmar, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.
In the calendar year 2024, pulses imports had doubled to a record 6.63 million tonne (MT) from 3.3 MT in the previous year.
Last year, the government launched the national mission for edible oilseed for achieving self-sufficiency in edible oils as the country imports 58% of its annual edible oil consumption.
Aimed at curbing fluctuations in output of fruits and vegetables, the budget proposals include launch of a programme to promote production, efficient supplies, processing, and remunerative prices for farmers for fruits and vegetables in collaboration with states.
“There will be efforts toward enhanced agricultural productivity, improved post-harvest storage, and credit availability to farmers. It would lead to a more resilient supply chain for food processing industries like ours,” Haresh Karamchandani, MD & Group CEO, HyFun Foods, a major processor of potatoes, told FE.
For Bihar’s makhana sector, a dedicated Makhana Board will be established to enhance production, processing, and marketing. This initiative will help organise farmers into producer groups, provide training, and facilitate access to various government schemes.
In a significant step for credit access, the government has increased the KCC short-term loan limit to Rs 5 lakh, benefiting 77 million farmers, including those engaged in fisheries and dairy farming. This move is expected to improve liquidity for small farmers and boost their overall financial security.
Susheel Kumar, country head and MD, Syngenta India said: “Targeted interventions like the six-year self-reliance mission for pulses will reduce import dependency, while investments in fruit and vegetable production align with evolving dietary patterns, securing better incomes for farmers,”.
A new Research Ecosystem Mission will focus on developing high-yield, pest-resistant, and climate-resilient seed varieties. More than 100 seed types, introduced since July 2024, will be commercially released to enhance productivity and climate adaptation. Similarly, a five-year Cotton Mission will promote the cultivation of extra-long staple cotton to support the textile sector under the integrated 5F vision.
The Budget has also proposed a sustainable fishing framework for the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone and High Seas, with special attention to the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.
Other key measures include the establishment of a new urea plant in Namrup, Assam, with an annual production capacity of 1.27 million tonnes, and increased financial support to the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) to expand cooperative lending.
A comprehensive horticulture development programme will also be launched to enhance the production, processing, and supply chain efficiency of vegetables, fruits, and Shree Anna, aligning with changing consumption patterns and rising income levels. The initiative will be executed in collaboration with states, farmer-producer organisations, and cooperatives through structured institutional mechanisms.
