₹2.5 Lcr given directly to farmers in 4 Yrs: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said ₹2.5 lakh crore has been transferred directly to farmers in the last four years under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. Delivering the keynote address at the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress here on Saturday, Modi said the farmers are also getting subsidised urea, and more than ₹15 lakh crore has been spent on MSP for crops. Sugar mills were given ₹20,000 crore to clear the dues of farmers.

He said the government and cooperatives should work hand-in-hand for making India a developed nation and underlined that the cooperative sector should become a model of transparency and corruption-free governance.

The prime minister said a dedicated ministry of cooperatives was formed in 2019 and given a platform on a par with the corporate sector in recognition of the importance of this sector for the welfare of small farmers and the financially weaker sections. He defined cooperatives as an example of "sabka prayas", a key slogan of his government. India has become the largest producer of milk due to the dairy cooperatives, the prime minister said. He noted that the contribution of women to the cooperative sector is 60%.