Maharashtra govt sanctions disbursement of Rs 1,700 cr as first tranche under farmer scheme

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The Maharashtra government on Tuesday sanctioned the disbursement of Rs 1,720 crore to farmers as the first tranche of funds under the Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana, reported news agency PTI.

A Government Resolution (GR) to this effect was issued by the state Agriculture Department which stated the amount will be deposited in the bank accounts of cultivators, reported PTI.

This new financial scheme under which more than 1 crore farmers in the state will be paid Rs 6,000 annually was approved at a Cabinet meeting in May. The scheme was announced in the 2023-24 budget by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was holding the finance portfolio at that time, reported PTI.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said the amount (Rs 6,000 to be paid to farmers annually by the state) is in addition to Rs 6,000 paid in instalments per year by the Centre under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.

Though the Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana was announced in the 2023-24 budget, the funds were not disbursed.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government will run a year-long women empowerment campaign aimed at training those who wish to expand their businesses and providing linkages related to it, reported PTI.

The 'Mukhymantri Mahila Sashaktikaran Abhiyan' (Chief Minister Women Empowerment Campaign) will be implemented from October 2, 2023, to October 1, 2024, said a government resolution (GR) issued on Friday (October 6).

The state government had on September 20 announced the implementation of the initiative but put it on hold within 24 hours. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had talked about the initiative after the Rajya Sabha last month passed the women's reservation bill to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, reported PTI.

Under this campaign, professional training will be imparted to women and help them facilitate raw materials and markets, as per the GR.

The campaign envisages training women who wish to expand their businesses, providing linkages related to their businesses and imparting training on ways to access global markets. It also aims to coordinate efforts to provide raw materials and markets for finished goods.

The campaign aims to benefit at least 1 lakh women in each district and train at least 10 lakh women through government departments, NGOs and training institutes.

A panel will be formed under the chairmanship of the chief minister, said the GR. It will also have training institutes, the secretary of the Industries Department, bank officials, representatives of self-help groups, experts and representatives of online bazaars and chamber of commerce as members.

Women self-help groups will be given information about government programmes and check their eligibility for different schemes, said the GR.

The coordination will be done by the 'Chief Minister Jankalyan Cell', said the GR. The panel will meet on the first Monday of every month.

A monthly review of the initiative will be done by the minister for women and child development and a report will be submitted to the CM and deputy CM, as per the GR.

An IAS officer from the chief minister's office will be the nodal officer, while the collector will be the chief of this campaign at the district level, said the GR.

(With inputs from PTI)