IARI Jharkhand's new building named after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

He was speaking via digital conference after inaugurating the newly constructed guest house of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) at Gouria Karma near Barhi in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, an official statement said Asserting that the central government is committed to doubling farmers' incomes by the year 2022, the minister said that it has taken several important initiatives in this direction through various schemes and programmes.

The Centre on Monday said the new administrative and academic building of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Jharkhand has been named after Bharatiya Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee on his birth anniversary.         On this occasion, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that Mukherjee dedicated his life to the unity and integrity of the country, gave the call for one nation-one law and sacrificed his life in Kashmir.       He was speaking via digital conference after inaugurating the newly constructed guest house of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) at Gouria Karma near Barhi in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, an official statement said

Asserting that the central government is committed to doubling farmers' incomes by the year 2022, the minister said that it has taken several important initiatives in this direction through various schemes and programmes.       "The 16-point action plan announced in the Budget 2020-21 and new legal provisions would help to achieve the target of doubling farmers' incomes," he said.       He stressed on the need to liberalise agricultural markets, make agriculture competitive, provide handholding to agriculture-based activities and adopt stable agricultural practices and maximum new technology.       Tomar said that in the Budget 2020-21, the government has provided Rs 2.83 lakh crores for agricultural activities, irrigation and rural development, which is the highest-ever allocation.       Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced several new schemes under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, including Rs 1 lakh crore infrastructure fund for the agriculture sector, the statement said.       Growth packages have also been announced for fisheries, animal husbandry, herbal farming, bee-keeping etc. which will ensure the progress of all categories of farming activities, it said.         "These initiatives will help to make possible all-round national development along with development of the agriculture and rural sectors," the statement said quoting Tomar.       Emphasising on bringing about a second green revolution to provide sufficient foodgrains for the growing population of the country, the minister said that there are unlimited possibilities in Jharkhand and North-Eastern states to bring about such a revolution.       He said that Delhi-headquartered IARI, better known as Pusa Institute, has played a leading role in the country's self-sufficiency in foodgrain production so much so that now the country has surplus production of foodgrains

Due to the presence of Pusa Institute, agricultural production has constantly grown in the neighbouring states like Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, he said.       Based on this, the minister said, two new agricultural research institutes have been established in Jharkhand and Assam.       Tomar also mentioned that during the coronavirus crisis, the agriculture sector has emerged as a major strength.       When lockdown was announced, the crop was ready for harvesting due to which the Prime Minister gave relaxation for this activity and farmers put in hard work for harvesting, sowing of summer crops and are now engaged in raising the kharif crops, he added.       "Predictions of a good monsoon have given further hope for a good crop this year," he noted.       Union ministers of state for agriculture, Purushottam Rupala and Kailash Choudhary, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General Trilochan Mahapatra, IARI Director A K Singh and other officers, scientists and farmers participated in the video-conference.