Prime Minister Narendra Modi has resolved to double the income of farmers and the government will take every possible step for their welfare, the new Union Minister for Agriculture and farmers welfare, Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday.
Speaking with the media after taking charge of his ministry at the Krishi Bhavan, he said he is happy to say that the first decision taken by the PM yesterday was in the interest of the farmers.
The minister also added that the NDA government has been committed to the farmers’ welfare for the past ten years and his ministry will continue to work towards achieving the goal.
Mr Chouhan, a former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, visited various offices in the Ministry and interacted with staff at various levels, including cleanliness workers. He exhorted them to work as a team for achieving the government vision for welfare of farmers and work in cooperation with each other.
He also visited Krishi integrated command and control centre in the Ministry and saw facilities to review the agriculture scenario within the country including crop production and drought preparedness.
Later, Mr Chouhan held a meeting of senior officials of the ministry and underscored the need for transparency in ministry functioning. He also handed over the government manifesto for the welfare of farmers and rural development and called upon everyone to work towards its fulfilment.
He asserted that PM Narendra Modi is a visionary leader and called upon the officials to work on a roadmap for achieving goals set up in the manifesto. He said improving the lives of ‘Annadata’ should be the mission of the ministry.
Mr Ramnath Thakur and Mr Bhagirath Choudhary also took charge as Ministers of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.