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

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday sanctioned the disbursement of Rs 1720 crore to farmers as the first tranche of funds under the Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana reported news agency PTIA 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 PTIThis new financial scheme under which more than 1 crore farmers in the state will be paid Rs 6000 annually was approved at a Cabinet meeting in May The scheme was announced in the 202324 budget by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who was holding the finance portfolio at that time reported PTIChief Minister Eknath Shinde had said the amount Rs 6000 to be paid to farmers annually by the state is in addition to Rs 6000 paid in instalments per year by the Centre under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi YojanaThough the Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana was announced in the 202324 budget the funds were not disbursedMeanwhile the Maharashtra government will run a yearlong women empowerment campaign aimed at training those who wish to expand their businesses and providing linkages related to it reported PTIThe 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 6The 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 womens reservation bill to reserve onethird of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women reported PTIUnder this campaign professional training will be imparted to women and help them facilitate raw materials and markets as per the GRThe 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 goodsThe 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 institutesA 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 selfhelp groups experts and representatives of online bazaars and chamber of commerce as membersWomen selfhelp groups will be given information about government programmes and check their eligibility for different schemes said the GRThe coordination will be done by the Chief Minister Jankalyan Cell said the GR The panel will meet on the first Monday of every monthA 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 GRAn IAS officer from the chief ministers office will be the nodal officer while the collector will be the chief of this campaign at the district level said the GRWith inputs from PTI