New Delhi [India], February 1 : Union Agriculture Minister and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan praised the Union Budget 2025 on Saturday, announcing that Rs 1,88,754 crore has been allocated for rural development, highlighting that significant focus has been placed on eradicating poverty in villages through various schemes and provisions introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The government is also going to launch the 'Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana,' to help increase crop productivity in over 100 districts which have the lowest productivity in the nation. According to the minister, this initiative will benefit over 1.7 crore farmers.
"This budget is the budget of 140 crore Indians. It is the budget for building a prosperous, self-reliant and developed India. The welfare of every section of the society has been taken care of in the budget," Chouhan said during a press conference.
The government has allocated Rs 1,88,754 crore for rural development, according to the union minister. Additionally, Rs 54,832 crore has been allocated for providing houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural), the union government's flagship scheme.
Talking about the 'Lakhpati didi' scheme, Minister Chouhan mentioned that out of 3 crore 'Lakhpati didis,' more than 1 crore 15 lakh have already become 'lakhpatis.' Claiming to empower the rest, the union budget has a provision of Rs 19,005 crore for women enrolled in the scheme.
"I am very happy to say that we are moving one step closer to eradicating poverty for women. Lakhpati didis did a lot of work and have become self-reliant, and now to make sure that they progress further, we are taking more steps on that," Chouhan said.
Highlighting the provisions in increasing the Kisan Credit Card limit to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 3 lakh for farmers, the minister called it a "boon" for anyone who will avail of the scheme.
"Kisan Credit Card is a boon for farmers. Till now, loans up to Rs 3 lakh were provided under Kisan Credit Card, this limit has been increased to Rs 5 lakh," he said.
A 'makhana board' will also be formed in Bihar, where elections are scheduled to happen soon, to improve the production, processing, value addition and marketing for the crop.
Earlier, Union Minister Nityanand Rai hailed the establishment of the Makhana Board as a significant announcement, expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithamrama.
He said, "The announcement of the Makahna Board was special, and also for the projects that were announced for the region of Koshi River. I thank PM Modi and the union finance minister on behalf of the people of Bihar."