Cabinet clears Rs 50,000-cr irrigation scheme: 10 things to know

In a bid to insulate farmers from the vagaries of the monsoon, the government on Thursday announced a new national irrigation scheme that will not only ensure supply of water to the agricultural sector, but also promote its efficient use and prevent wastage.

The 'Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana' was given approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"This can also be utilised to help the material component in MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act)," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said while communicating the Cabinet decision.

Half of India's farmland lacks irrigation so any increase in irrigated land should help reduce the country's dependence on the June-September monsoon, which is expected to be deficient this year, raising fears of the first drought in six years.

Currently, 142 million hectares are used for cultivation, of which only 45 per cent farm land is under irrigation.

The move may help the government's standing in rural areas, after Opposition parties stalled its efforts to effect changes in Land Acquisition Bill. The government has also had to cope with a wave of suicides by farmers.

1. The scheme will have an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore over a period of five years beginning FY16.
2. The allocation for the current financial year is Rs 5,300 crore.
3. The spending this year is expected to bring an additional 6 lakh hectares under irrigation while 5 lakh hectares will benefit from drip irrigation. That apart, 1,300 watershed projects have been marked for completion.
4. States will draw up a District Irrigation Plan and a State Irrigation Plan (SIP).
   
5. Rs 200 crore for three years has also been allocated to Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund (ATIF) for promotion of National Agricultural Market (NAM). Currently, farmers are restricted to selling their produce at "mandis", or market committees, in their states. ATIF will help farmers decide when to sell their produce and secure higher prices.
6. NAM will integrate 585 wholesale markets across India (250 in 2015).
7. All structures created under the schemes will be geo-tagged.
8. The programme will be supervised and monitored at the national level by an Inter-Ministerial National Steering Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister.
9. A National Executive Committee will oversee the implementation, allocation of resources, inter-ministerial coordination, monitoring and performance assessment.
10. Shares of irrigation system providers such as Jain Irrigation Systems, Finolex Industries and Shakti Pumps jumped as much as 9 per cent after the announcement.