PM PRANAM – GOVERNMENT SCHEME
News: Biofertilizer
scheme gets Cabinet nod; sugarcane FRP hiked
What's in the news?
● The
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the PM-PRANAM (PM
Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration
of Mother Earth) scheme, which was a promise made in the last Budget.
Key takeaways:
● Union
Fertilizer Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told reporters after the meeting that the
new scheme would promote use of
nutrient-based, biofertilizers for sustainable agriculture and it would
have a total outlay of ₹3,70,128.7 crore.
PM PRANAM:
Aim:
● To
bring down the subsidy burden on
chemical fertilizers.
Objective:
● To
encourage the balanced and sustainable use of fertilizers in conjunction with
biofertilizers and organic fertilizers in order to save soils.
Nodal Ministry:
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Incentives:
● The
programme will seek to incentivize
states and union territories promoting alternative fertilizers and the
balanced use of chemical fertilizers.
● 50% of subsidy savings
will be passed on as a grant to the state that saves the money.
○ 70%
of the grant provided under the scheme can be used for asset creation related
to the technological adoption of alternate fertilizers and alternate fertilizer
production units at the village, block and district levels.
○ The
remaining 30% grant money can be used for rewarding and encouraging farmers,
panchayats, farmer producer organizations and self-help groups that are
involved in the reduction of fertilizer use and awareness generation