Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here on Tuesday that PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme marks the continuity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s conviction and commitment.

In his address at a programme held at SKUAST here to telecast PM Narendra Modi’s virtual grant of fresh instalment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Dr Jitendra Singh said, there is a certain pattern of continuity with deep commitment and conviction with which Prime Minister Modi follows each of his initiatives.

Describing PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme as one such distinct example, Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that the scheme was launched by PM Modi in his first term, i.e., Modi Government 1.0 on 2 February 2019. Since then, he said, regular programmes of similar nature were held for timely grant of the instalments to the needy farmers and the process continued over the second term of PM Modi, i.e., Modi Government 2.0 and is now also seen in third term of Modi Government 3.0 with the first function happening within just one month of the swearing in of the ministry for the third term.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, as the name indicates, the amount transferred to the accounts of the needy farmers is not only a means of providing financial support but it is also an expression of the society’s respect and acknowledgement of farmer as “Annadata’ and therefore the scheme has been appropriately named as Kisan “Samman” Nidhi scheme.

This also reflects, said Dr Jitendra Singh, Prime Minister Modi’s conscious attempt to introduce in the society and in the polity, a new work culture which is above the divisions of caste, creed or religion.

He referred to PM Modi’s recent statement where he had said that he knew only of four classes or castes in this country, namely Kisan(farmer), Mahila(women), Yuva(youth) and Garib(poor).

By serving the cause of these four classes all the castes and religions get addressed because these classes include Hindus as well as Muslims and every caste of Hindu as well, he said.

Referring to today’s programme in the light of the same spirit, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, through today’s grants while on the one hand the farmers’ class is being addressed, on the other hand the women are also being addressed through the initiative of “Krishi-Sakhi” Self-Help Groups of women farmers who are also going to get the benefit in today’s programme.

Dr Jitendra Singh also underlined the use of technology in all the Modi schemes including the PM Kisan Samman scheme where more than five lakh common service centres have been opened and even the Artificial Intelligence has been used to produce AI chatbot called Kisan e-mitra which is available in eleven Indian languages and soon it will be available in Dogri and Kashmiri as well.

He said it is important for the opinion makers to create this awareness that today’s farmers is not the farmer of the yesteryears but he is an agriculture entrepreneur or agri-tech start-up and one of the best examples of this has come from Jammu & Kashmir which gave birth to Aroma Mission and offered livelihood and Start-up opportunities to thousands of agri-workers through lavender cultivation which began from the small town of Bhaderwah and is now being cited all over the world including in the display during the Republic Day tableau at Kartavya Path.

Referring to the agriculture sector as an important future component of India’s economy as it rises to number three economy, Dr Jitendra Singh said this is one sector which had not remained fully explored and Jammu & Kashmir is going to play an important part.