The Hindu : National : CCEA approves Food Security Mission

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Friday, Aug 17, 2007
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CCEA approves Food Security Mission

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday gave its approval to a Centrally-sponsored scheme on the National Food Security Mission to enhance foodgrains production and a Rs 25,000 crore Additional Assistance Scheme to incentivise States during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan from 2007 to 2011. The National Development Council had adopted the schemes in a resolution in its 53rd meeting in May.

Giving details, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said in view of the stagnating foodgrains production and an increasing consumption need of the growing population, the NDC meeting had adopted a resolution to enhance the production of rice, wheat and pulses by ten, eight and two million tonnes by 2011. The National Food Security Mission (NFSM) will have three components, namely NFSM-Rice, NFSM-Wheat and NFSM-Pulses towards this goal and to enhance the farm growth rate to 4 per cent.

The total financial implications for the NFSM will be Rs.4882.48 crores during the XI Plan. Beneficiary farmers will contribute 50 per cent of cost of the activities/work to be taken up at their/individual farm holdings.

Beneficiaries can choose to draw loans from the banks, in which case, the subsidy amount prescribed for a particular component for which the loan is availed, will be released to the banks.

Under NFSM-Rice, 133 districts of 10 States — Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal — will be covered.

Under NFSM-Wheat, 138 districts of nine States — Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, M.P., Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal — will be covered. Under NFSM-Pulses, 168 districts of 14 States — A.P., Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, M.P., Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, U.P. and West Bengal — will be covered.

In the Rs 25,000 crore Additional Assistance Scheme (AAS) for the farm sector, the outlay for the States would depend upon the amount provided in the State budgets for agriculture and allied sectors, over and above the base line percentage expenditure incurred by the State Governments.

The funds would be a 100 per cent grant by the Central Government. An outlay of Rs.1,500 crore for 2007-08 has been set aside. An allocation of Rs 25,000 crore has been approved over five years.

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