NEW DELHI: Underlining that the fortunes of millions of farmers will be transformed, PM Narendra Modi on Saturday launched two new agriculture schemes, the PM Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) and the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, with a total outlay of Rs 35,440 crore.

PM Modi also inaugurated 1,054 projects worth Rs 3,650 crore completed under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) after June 2024, inaugurated and laid the foundation for 17 animal husbandry projects worth ₹1,166 crore, 16 fisheries projects worth Rs 693 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund, and 11 projects worth ₹808 crore to promote food processing under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana and the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI).

Urging farmers to play a major role in building a developed India, he said, “After independence, you made India self-sufficient in food production. On one hand, we must be self-reliant, and on the other, we must also produce for the global market… focus on crops that dominate global markets.”

During the event, which coincided with the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan, Modi targeted previous governments for neglecting agriculture, saying, “It’s crucial that agriculture continues to receive government support as times change. Unfortunately, previous governments abandoned agriculture and left it to its own conditions…”

PM Modi further said, “For 21st-century India to achieve rapid development, reforms in our agricultural system were essential. This began in 2014. We reversed the previous governments’ careless approach to agriculture, implementing countless reforms and improvements for farmers—from seeds to markets. The results are evident today.”

PM Modi said, “The Congress government provided a fertilizer subsidy of Rs 5 lakh crore in its 10 years, whereas our government has provided fertilizer subsidies of more than Rs 13 lakh crore over the last 10 years.”