Modi Unveils Dhan-Dhaanya and Pulses Missions
₹693 Cr Fisheries Projects Across States Announced
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana and the Self-Reliance in Pulses Mission at a national event held at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Pusa, New Delhi. Together, these initiatives are part of a larger investment of more than ₹42,000 crore aimed at strengthening agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and food processing across India.
The Prime Minister was joined by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Minister of State Bhagirath Choudhary. Several Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, Members of Parliament, and farmers from various states participated, many of them through video link. The Prime Minister also interacted with cultivators involved in pulses production, fisheries, and animal husbandry and paid homage to Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan and Nanaji Deshmukh on their birth anniversaries.
The Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana consolidates 36 sub-schemes under 11 ministries to promote integrated development in aspirational districts. It seeks to expand rural infrastructure, improve productivity, and increase farmers’ access to technology, finance, and markets. The Self-Reliance in Pulses Mission aims to reduce India’s dependence on imports by supporting the use of improved seed varieties, promoting modern farming techniques, and enhancing production of tur, moong, urad, and masoor to meet domestic demand.
At the same event, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid foundation stones for more than 1,100 projects under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund, and related schemes. These include warehouses, cold storage units, food processing clusters, and logistics facilities intended to strengthen supply chains and generate rural employment.
Addressing the gathering, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan outlined ongoing measures to stabilise fertiliser prices and boost farmers’ income. He said that urea continues to be available at ₹266 per bag and di-ammonium phosphate at ₹1,350, supported by government subsidies. The reduction in Goods and Services Tax on agricultural machinery has made modern equipment more affordable. Minimum Support Prices have been increased across key crops — ₹160 per quintal for wheat, more than ₹200 for gram, ₹300 for lentil, ₹250 for mustard, and ₹600 for sunflower.
Chouhan added that under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, ₹3.90 lakh crore have been directly credited to farmers’ accounts, while loans exceeding ₹10 lakh crore were issued in 2024–25 through the Kisan Credit Card scheme, supported by ₹1.62 lakh crore in interest subsidies. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has disbursed more than ₹1.83 lakh crore in compensation to insured farmers affected by crop losses.
More than 52 lakh farmers are now part of Farmer Producer Organisations, with around 1,100 of these entities achieving turnovers above ₹1 crore each and a combined business volume of ₹15,000 crore. The government has also supported branding, innovation, and market linkages for these collectives. During the event, the Prime Minister presented awards to farmers, FPOs, cooperatives, and innovators in recognition of their contributions to agricultural progress.
The Prime Minister also launched and laid foundation stones for 16 fisheries projects across several states, with a total investment of ₹693 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and the Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund. These projects aim to expand production, create jobs, and strengthen post-harvest infrastructure. Notable among them are the ₹170 crore trout fisheries project in Uttarakhand, the ₹119.94 crore Smart and Integrated Fishing Harbour at Karaikal in Puducherry, the ₹100 crore Integrated Aqua Park at Hirakud in Odisha, the ₹70 crore sustainable aquaculture hub in Amethi, the ₹50 crore Integrated Aqua Park in Nagaland, and a ₹3.68 crore eco-tourism and fisheries project in Jharkhand.
In addition, nine fisheries projects worth ₹121 crore were inaugurated, including a wholesale fish market in Varanasi, fish feed plants in Assam, and seafood processing and cold storage facilities in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Mizoram, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Around fifty fish farmers from different states attended the programme, representing the country’s one hundred Aspirational Agricultural Districts. Eight of them interacted directly with the Prime Minister, sharing their experiences in aquaculture and related activities.
The schemes launched today together cover agriculture, animal husbandry, and fisheries. Their implementation will involve 11 Union ministries and departments and extend to aspirational and rural districts across all states and Union Territories. The total investment of over ₹42,000 crore includes ₹693 crore specifically earmarked for fisheries projects in multiple states. The initiatives also link with ongoing government programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Kisan Credit Card, Fasal Bima Yojana, and the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund to support productivity, value addition, and financial inclusion in the farm sector.
– global bihari bureau
