New Delhi – Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched two major schemes for the agriculture sector with a combined outlay of Rs 35,440 crore, including a pulses mission aimed at reducing import dependency.

The event coincided with the birth anniversary of socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan.

He also inaugurated projects valued at over Rs 5,450 crore in the agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and food processing sectors, while laying the foundation stone for additional projects worth around Rs 815 crore.

The 'Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses', with an outlay of Rs 11,440 crore, aims at increasing pulses production from the current 252.38 lakh tonne to 350 lakh tonne by the 2030-31 crop year and reducing the country's import dependency.

The Rs 24,000-crore 'Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana' aims to transform 100 low-performing agri-districts. The scheme will focus on enhancing productivity, promoting crop diversification, improving irrigation and storage, and ensuring credit access in the select 100 districts.

The two schemes, already approved by the Cabinet, will be implemented from the upcoming rabi (winter) season till 2030-31.

Among the projects inaugurated are artificial insemination training centres in Bengaluru and Jammu and Kashmir, centres of excellence at Amreli and Banas, an IVF lab in Assam under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, milk powder plants at Mehsana, Indore, and Bhilwara, and a fish feed plant under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana at Tezpur.

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