Schemes rolled out for farmers in Himachal Pradesh

On October 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled the various schemes that were brought by the Bharatiya Janata Party for farmers. While campaigning at Himachal Pradesh’s Solan, he mentioned that a bag of urea that costs Rs 2000 to import to India, is provided to farmers at less than 270 and the rest of the burden is taken care of by the Centre. He went on to claim that the needs of farmers are taken care of by the BJP through various schemes.

This article will elaborate on the various schemes that have been rolled out in the past one year and the subsidies provided to farmers in the hill state.

Also Read — UCC, sops for women, farmers in BJP's push for retaining power in Himachal

*HIMCAD

The Himachal Pradesh government rolled out a new scheme for farmers a month prior to the assembly elections named ‘HIMCAD’, to provide irrigation facilities to the farmers. The states which are dependent on rain for irrigation will be provided end-to-end connectivity for watering their farm fields.

*Himachal Pushp Kranti

The scheme aimed at protecting high-quality flowers was given an additional 2 lakh 47 thousand square metres last year. The scheme is aimed at supporting the protection and cultivation of high-quality price flowers.

*PM Kisan Nidhi Yojana

Under the PM ‘Kisan Nidhi Yojana’ the BJP had already promised an annual income of Rs 6,000 to farmers. In its new manifesto, it has further promised to give Rs 3,000 in addition to the Rs 6,000 given to them annually under a central government scheme. The manifesto also plans to add 10 lakh farmers to the scheme.

Another section BJP is eyeing is the apple growers of the state. The apple farmers’ agitations have had huge political prominence in the past. After 30 years, last year the farmers were seen on the streets protesting against the GST raised to 18 per cent from 12 per cent imposed on apple packaging. This was addressed by BJP in its manifesto, as it has assured that it will limit the GST to 12 per cent.