NEW DELHI: With the campaign for Bihar elections gathering pace, PM Modi on Saturday launched two mega central schemes with a total outlay of Rs 35,440 crore to transform 100 low-performing agri-districts and increase production of pulses to reduce imports, urging farmers to focus on both selfreliance and exports.Addressing a gathering of farmers and farm policymakers at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, he said, “On one hand, we will have to be self-sufficient, while on the other hand, we will have to produce for the global market…We have to focus on those crops which can dominate the world agri market. These two schemes – PM Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (with an outlay of Rs 24,000 crore for 100 lowperforming districts) and Mission for self-sufficiency in pulses (with an outlay of Rs 11,440 crore) – will play vital roles in this journey. He further emphasised farmers’ vital contribution in making the country self-reliant in food production and calling upon them to lead the way in building a developed India.

On the occasion, he also virtually inaugurated 1,054 completed projects valued at over Rs 5,450 crore and laid foundation stones for an additional 50 projects, worth around Rs 815 crore, relating to agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and food processing sectors.Both the newly launched centralschemeswill be implemented from the upcoming rabi (winter sowing) season, extending till 2030-31. Under the PM Dhan Dhaanya Yojana for 100 low-productivity districts, farm output will be enhanced through various interventions, including a focus on higher irrigation coverage and crop diversification.Among the 100 identified districts, Uttar Pradesh accounts for the highest number (12). It is followed by Maharashtra (9); Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (8); Bihar (7); Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal (4); Assam, Kerala and Chhattisgarh (3); and Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and UT of J&K (2).These districts have been identified based on three factors: low productivity, moderate crop intensity and belowaverage access to credit. Thirty-six different schemes of 11 departments will be converged to implement the programme. “We have often heard the phrase ‘36 ka aankda’; a way of saying that two parties are completely at odds with each other. But as a government, we challenge such perceptions and reverse them,” PM Modi said, underlining that the govt has brought together 36 schemes under PM DhanDhaanya Krishi Yojana to develop the identified districts.