Budget 2022 in India: Finance Minister introduces kisan drones to help the farm sector

*Paromita Das

On Tuesday, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Indian Union Budget 2022, which included various sops for farmers.

Kisan drones will be utilised for agricultural evaluation, land records, and insecticide spraying, according to the FM. It will usher in a technological revolution in the agricultural industry, according to Sitharaman.

Not only that, but the Indian government would pay Rs 2.37 lakh crore for wheat and paddy procurement under MSP operations. The connection of the Ken and Betwa rivers, estimated to cost Rs 44,605 crore, would also be undertaken. All of these programmes will provide farmers across the country a significant boost.

In addition, the government has established a streamlined plan to boost domestic oilseed production in order to reduce imports.

The International Year of Millets has been declared for 2022-23, according to the FM.

According to the minister, the railroads would also develop new products for small farmers and MSMEs.

She also mentioned that the efforts of the federal and state governments are resulting in job creation and business prospects.

She also stated that between 2022 and 2023, national highways will be extended by 25,000 kilometres.

• Highlights of PM Gati Shakti’s India Union Budget 2022

Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Finance Minister delivered the Budget 2022 to Parliament on Tuesday. The finance minister revealed the India at 100 plans in her opening remarks, as well as the PM Gati Shakti programme to stimulate growth.

The following are the main points of PM Gati Shakti’s plan:

• Railways, roads, airports, ports, public transportation, waterways, and logistical infrastructure are all part of the plan.
• Over the following three years, 100 PM Gati Shakti cargo terminals will be built.
• Innovative metro system construction methods are being implemented.
• In the next three years, 400 new Vande Bharat trains with improved efficiency would be introduced.
• Inclusive growth, productivity increase, and investment, sunrise prospects, energy transition and climate action, and investment finance are all part of the plan.
• In 2022-23, a master plan for expressways will be developed.
• According to the finance minister, the highway proposal will allow for speedier circulation of people and products.
• In 2022-23, the national highway network will be increased by 25,000 kilometres.
• To supplement public resources, Rs 20,000 crores would be mobilised.

 

• Indian Union Budget 2022: The country would issue citizens with next-generation e-passports.

Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Finance Minister released the budget for fiscal 2022-23, aiming to increase growth amid continuous disruption from COVID-19 and growing prices.

“Issuance of E-passports will be rolled out in 2022-23 to promote citizen convenience,” Sitharaman said when announcing the budget.

The next-generation passports are anticipated to safeguard the security of biometric data while also facilitating smooth travel through immigration checkpoints around the world.

However, the concept of e-passports is not new; former foreign affairs minister S Jaishankar proposed the concept of the e-passport some time ago.

While ordinary residents in India do not have access to biometric passports, diplomatic and government passports have been biometrically guarded since 2008, when then-President Pratibha Patil received the country’s first e-passport.

India would be able to join the 150 countries that issue biometric passports, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Bangladesh, and others.

 

• Nirmala Sitharaman wears an Orissa handloom saree to introduce the Union Budget 2022.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is known for her fondness of handloom sarees and has always supported local craftsmen by wearing their gorgeous, intricate works in parliament.

The Finance Minister chose a rust and maroon handloom weave with silver thread work in the border as she arrived in Parliament on Tuesday to announce the Union Budget 2022.

Last year, Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in a red pochampalli saree. She is wearing a Bomkai saree this year, which is created in the eastern Indian state of Orissa.

Given the impending UP assembly elections, there was speculation that Sitharaman will wear a Benarasi saree.

Traditional Bomkai silk sarees, also known as Sonepuri sarees, are weaved in a unique way and originated in Orissa’s western region. Low count cotton yarn, which is coarse, thick, and coloured in brilliant colours, was utilised in the traditional weaving technique of these sarees.