PULWAMA: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, today visited Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Malangpora to partake in celebration of PM Kisan Utsav Divas from where he attended the Prime Minister's landmark event of release of 17th installment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme virtually.

He had an exclusive interactive session with the local farming community there.

Earlier, Nityanand Rai toured various agricultural sites, including a virus-free high-density apple orchard, saffron and almond plantations, a high-tech playhouse for vegetative propagation of walnut and areas dedicated to propagation of medicinal and aromatic plants and high-density vegetables.

During his visit, the Union Minister inspected various stalls and distributed subsidy sanction letters among the selected beneficiaries. A large number of farmers and PM Kisan beneficiaries were present on the occasion who interacted with the Union Minister and shared their experiences.

The Union Minister emphasized the critical role of agriculture in India's economy and highlighted governments unwavering support for farmers through different schemes including PM KISAN SAMMAN NIDHI. He maintained that agriculture remains a priority for the Prime Minister and praised the PM-KISAN scheme, which has provided significant financial support directly to farmers' bank accounts since its launch on February 24, 2019.

Nityanand Rai also stressed the importance of good agricultural practices, emerging technologies in agriculture and climate-resilient farming. He reiterated that agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy, generating most employment opportunities and sustaining the country's food reserves. He emphasized the importance of traditional agricultural knowledge and use of farmers for knowledge sharing and training.

The PM-KISAN scheme provides financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year to all land-holding eligible farmers, being distributed in three equal installments every four months via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode. Till date, over Rs 129 crore have been disbursed among the eligible farmers across the district. With the latest release, the total amount transferred to beneficiaries since the scheme's inception will exceed Rs 142 crore.

The Union Minister lauded the efforts of UT government in implementing various farmer friendly schemes and delved upon the Holistic Agriculture Development Plan, that provides battery of 29 sub components covering all agriculture and allied sectors.

While emphasizing the role of research and development in agriculture, the Union Minister acknowledged the efforts of SKUAST-K and its field formations in the form of KVKs.

He was accompanied by Vice Chancellor SKUAST, Dr. Nazir, Ahmad Ganie and Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama, Dr. Basharat Qayoom,

Besides, DIG South, Javaid Ahmad, Senior Superintendent of Police Pulwama, P.D. Nitya, were among other officers of SKUAST-K and Agriculture department present on the occasion.