BKU's Rakesh Tikait wants separate Agriculture Budget & hike in Rs 6,000 PM-KISAN support

After Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2021-22 in Parliament, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait while speaking from the Ghazipur border on Monday said that the Government should provide a separate budget for farmers to address various issues of the farming community. Stating that there should be a separate budget for the agriculture sector, Rakesh Tikait said that as the protesting farmers are facing tough times the government should also waive the loans of farmers. 

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BKU chief asks govt to waive farm loans

Suggesting that there should be a scheme to provide free electricity to farmers, Tikait said that a separate fund for agriculture work under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act) should be announced to give regular payment to farm labourers. Referring to the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme which aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country, he said that the income support can be raised.

Under the scheme at the moment, income support of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal installments is provided to small and marginal farmer families having combined landholding and ownership of up to 2 hectares. 

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Asserting that the increase in the price of crops will not pave the way for the regeneration of the agricultural sector and farmers, the BKU leader said that the government needs to put more effort into the sector and work on electricity and water availability to farmers. Farmers from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar are paying different bills for water and electricity but getting the same price on the crops, this inequality should be recovered, he added. Tikait further requested the Centre to exempt farm machinery from tax.

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Budget proposals rest on 6 pillars: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday detailed the Budget 2021-2022 proposals under the following six pillars:

• Health & well-being
• Physical & financial capital & infrastructure
• Inclusive development for aspirational India
• Reinvigorating human capital
• Innovation & R&D
• Minimum Govt and Maximum Governance

Later, in her press conference, she put forth that the two most important features of the Budget were the Infrastructure push, which entailed a 34% increase in allocation to Rs 5.54 lakh crore, and the increase in allocation on Health and Well-Being, by 137% to Rs 2.27 lakh crore.

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(With ANI inputs)