December 29, 2024 9:28 PM.
Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New & Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi today visited Charilam village in Sepahijala district of Tripura to oversee renewable energy project taken up by the Tripura Renewable Energy Development Agency (TREDA) for the farmers.
During the review of the Ministry’s activities in the area, the Minister said 27 SPV Pumps covering 54 acres of land under PM- KUSUM Scheme (Component B) and 35 LED based SPV Street Lighting Systems under MNRE Scheme have been installed.
He added that these initiatives have led to the successful implementation of double cropping, resulting in double income for the farmers. The Union Minister was on a two-day visit to Tripura from Saturday and attended multiple programmes.
During his visit to the state, the Minister visited the Food Corporation of India (FCI) office and the state godowns on 28th December, where he took stock of the current situation, particularly in terms of food grain storage and distribution. He also had a meeting with Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha and other officials to review the performance and implementation of key central schemes like PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, PM KUSUM, and PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana in Tripura.
Mr. Joshi said that the Centre has recently approved a Private Enterprise Guarantee (PEG) scheme for enhancing storage space in North Eastern States. With this initiative, FCI aims to double its storage capacity in Tripura by constructing additional capacity of 70,000 metric tonnes in two years’ time period.
He said, today India is providing free food grains to 81 crore people under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which is twice the population of the European Union. Under this scheme rice, wheat and coarse grains are being provided free of cost to state identified beneficiaries. He said, PM Modi government has extended this free ration scheme till December 31, 2028.
In the last 5-years under Decentralised Procurement mode, around 1.2 lakh MT Rice of MSP value of 360 crore rupees has been procured in Tripura state benefitting around 94,000 farmers. Recently, Central government has also extended the universal supply of fortified rice enriched with essential micronutrients such as iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 under all government welfare schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, Integrated Child Development Services and PM POSHAN from July 2024 until December 2028. In year 2023-24, around 1.75 lakh MT Fortified rice was lifted/distributed under various welfare schemes in Tripura.