Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday released the 10th instalment of the PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) Scheme electronically transferring more than Rs 20,000 crore to the accounts of nearly 10 crore beneficiary farmer families.

The PM also released an equity grant of more than Rs. 14 crores to about 351 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) that would benefit more than 1.24 lakh farmers and also interacted with FPOs.

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While interacting with FPOs, the Prime Minister inquired about the choice of organic farming by them and the ways of certification of the organic products. He also talked about the marketing of the organic products of the FPO.

The PM told the FPOs that India needs to embark upon a new journey taking inspiration from the achievements of the past years. He recalled the nation’s effort in fighting the pandemic, vaccination and making arrangements for the vulnerable sections during the difficult period.

He said the Government is spending 2 lakh 60 thousand crore rupees on making ration available to the vulnerable sections and also working relentlessly to strengthen its medical infrastructure.

Speaking about the economy, the Prime Minister said that on many parameters, the Indian economy is looking better than pre-covid days. He pointed out that “today the growth rate of our economy is more than 8%. Record foreign investment has come to India. Our forex reserves have reached record levels. Old records have also been surpassed in the GST collection. We have also set new records in the matter of exports, especially in agriculture.”

He said that in 2021 transaction of more than 70 lakh crore rupees was done on UPI. More than 50 thousand start-ups are working in India out of these 10 thousand came up during the last six months.

On agriculture production, the PM said Foodgrain production touched 300 million tons this year. Similarly, Horticulture and floriculture production reached 330 million tons. Milk production also increased almost 45 per cent in the last 6-7 years. About 60 lakh hectare land was brought under micro-irrigation and more than 1 lakh crore was given in compensation under Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana, whereas the premium received was just 21 thousand crores.

Interacting with the PM, an FPO from Uttarakhand told the Prime Minister how they arrange organic fertilizers. The Prime Minister said that it has been the efforts of the government that natural and organic farming is widely promoted as it reduces the reliance on chemical fertilizer and improves the income of the farmers.

Another FPO from Punjab told PM how they are disposing of the Parali without burning it. The FPO from Rajasthan talked about honey production. They said that the concept of FPO has been very useful for them with the help of NAFED. Many other FPOs interacted with the PM.