Palanpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said a combination of direct financial assistance, fertiliser subsidies, minimum support prices and crop insurance had helped farmers across the country receive or save more than Rs 50 lakh crore over the past several years.Citing five key govt schemes, Modi said the PM-Kisan programme had channelled around Rs 4.5 lakh crore directly into the bank accounts of small farmers since its launch in 2019. He said the 24th instalment, released on Friday, involved transfers of more than Rs 18,000 crore to nearly 10 crore farmers.Govt had also spent about Rs 16 lakh crore to protect cultivators from the impact of rising fertiliser prices amid global uncertainty, he said. Modi added that wheat and paddy farmers had received Rs 24 lakh crore through the minimum support price (MSP) system over the past 12 years.Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, insurance claims exceeding Rs 2 lakh crore had been paid to farmers over the past decade or so, he said.Modi also highlighted the PM-KUSUM scheme, under which nearly 12 lakh solar-powered irrigation pumps had been installed. The initiative, he said, was helping farmers cut their dependence on diesel and reduce irrigation expenses, while also enabling them to contribute to electricity generation.“Through these initiatives (five government schemes) alone, the nation’s farmers have either received or saved an amount equivalent to Rs 50 lakh crore, a truly massive figure, which has contributed to increasing their income,” he said.The rally venue in Bhildi had an unusual seating arrangement, with organisers placing charpais instead of chairs for the audience. Modi welcomed the arrangement and remarked that it could be one of the largest ‘charpai sabhas’ he had addressed.Modi accepts 21-year-old’s sketchA 21-year-old girl from a remote village in Banaskantha had a memorable moment at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Bhildi on Friday when he noticed the portrait of him she was holding, appreciated her effort and accepted the artwork.Modi spotted Seema Parmar of Khimana village in the crowd and remarked that her artistic tribute had left him impressed. He then asked his SPG personnel to collect the sketch from her.Seema, who studies in the third year of college in Deodar, was overjoyed by the gesture. “I am extremely happy that PM noticed me among the crowd and accepted my painting. I had been practising it for six months and prepared the sketch in four days,” she told media persons.She said she was inspired to make the portrait after watching a YouTube video of an earlier event in which Modi had accepted a sketch from a child. That prompted her to prepare one for Prime Minister.
