Government alert on the challenge of El Nino; Shivraj Singh Chauhan is doing high-level monitoring every week

Indian Government Prepare For El Nino: Amidst the uncertainty of monsoon arising out of the possible impact of El Nino, the Central Government, under the leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is fully prepared and is busy handling the situation with a clear strategy and strong ground action. There are definitely challenges, but the system is already active and alert to deal with them.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that after 33 percent less rainfall in June, the situation has improved in July and now this deficiency has come down to 24 percent. In recent days, many parts of the country have received good rainfall, due to which the number of districts with low rainfall has reduced from 262 to 178.

Special surveillance is being kept on many states

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, speaking to the media in Delhi after the high-level review meeting, said that special surveillance is being maintained in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal and Odisha. It is expected that rains will pick up pace in July, which will speed up Kharif sowing.

Sowing has been done in more than 350 lakh hectares

Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that at present sowing has been done in 350.85 lakh hectares, which is about 91.95 lakh hectares less than last year. The delay in monsoon has impacted soybean and cotton, but farmers have been advised to sow short duration and water-intensive crops like maize, millet and moong.

Government had started preparations from April – Shivraj Singh Chauhan

Shivraj Singh said that the government had already started preparations for this challenge from April. With the cooperation of ICAR, contingency plans for the districts likely to be affected have been prepared and shared with the states. Under the “Khet Bachao Abhiyan” run in the month of June, more than 1.24 lakh programs were organized and more than 80 lakh farmers were directly reached.

Stock of 1.75 lakh quintals ready for availability of seeds

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that to ensure the availability of seeds, a national seed stock of about 1.75 lakh quintals has been kept ready, so that sowing is not affected in any situation. Also, while intensifying the Kisan Credit Card campaign, out of 1.14 lakh applications received till June 30, more than 94 thousand have been approved.

Efforts continue to increase participation of farmers under the insurance scheme

Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that efforts are on to increase the participation of farmers under the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme, so that economic security can be ensured in case of any possible loss. Shivraj Singh said that keeping in mind the possibilities of El Nino, the monitoring system is fully active.

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El Nino Monitoring Cell, Crop Weather Watch Group, State Level Control Room and appointed officials are continuously monitoring the monsoon, sowing, crop and market conditions. It is clear from all this that the government is not only monitoring the situation, but is also fully prepared to meet every challenge with strong processes, adequate resources and time-bound strategy.