Minister of State for Agriculture, Shobha Karandlaje, announced on Thursday that the Centre has disbursed ₹235.14 crores to Karnataka as the third installment under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) for the financial year 2023-24. Additionally, the Centre has sanctioned the procurement of Bengal Gram (chana) in the State at a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹5,440 per quintal, with a maximum quantity of 1,39,740 tonnes for the 2023-24 rabi season under the price support scheme, as stated in an agriculture ministry statement.
The allocated funds will be utilized by the State to implement various components of the RKVY scheme, including soil health and fertility, rainfed area development, paramparagat krishi vikas yojana, submission on agriculture mechanization (SMAM), per drop more crop, agroforestry, and crop diversification programs. These funds will further contribute to enhancing infrastructure in the agriculture sector, such as constructing godowns, water harvesting structures, establishing primary demonstration units, procuring tractors, power tillers, and drones, promoting integrated farming, improving soil health fertility, and setting up custom hiring centers.
Karandlaje emphasized during her address in Delhi that the Department of Agriculture has allocated a total amount of ₹761.89 crore for the year 2023-24 under RKVY to Karnataka for implementing the aforementioned components for the welfare of farmers. In January, an additional allocation of ₹178.65 crore was provided to Karnataka under the RKVY scheme, specifically for the implementation of SMAM (Rs 120 crore), Soil Health Card (₹12.00 crores), and RKVY – DPR (₹46.65 crore). The initial allocation under the RKVY scheme was ₹583.24 crore, which has now been increased to ₹761.89 crore for the year 2023-24.
As of now, the Centre has released a total amount of ₹526.75 crore out of the allocated ₹761.89 crore to Karnataka. The remaining balance will be released after the utilization of the already disbursed amount by the State, as mentioned in the statement.
