• The recent spurt in food prices was driven by increase in the prices of items like fruits and vegetables, milk, meat, poultry and fish, which account for more than 70 per cent of the WPI basket for primary food items.
• The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India is estimated to have grown at 8.6 per cent in 2010-11 in real terms. In 2010-11 agriculture is estimated to have grown at 5.4 per cent, industry at 8.1 per cent and services at 9.6 per cent.
• Indian economy is expected to grow at 9 per cent with an outside band of +/- 0.25 per cent in 2011-12.
• To ensure greater efficiency, cost effectiveness and better delivery for both kerosene and fertilisers, the Government will move towards direct transfer of cash subsidy to people living below poverty line in a phased manner.
• A task force headed by Shri Nandan Nilekani has been set-up to work out the modalities for the proposed system of direct transfer of subsidy for kerosene, LPG and fertilisers. The interim report of the task force is expected by June 2011. The system will be in place by March 2012.
• The UID Mission has taken off and Aadhaar numbers are being generated in large numbers. So far 20 lakh Aadhaar numbers have been given and from 1st October 2011, ten lakh numbers will be generated per day. The stage is now set for realising the potential of Aadhaar for improving service delivery, accountability and transparency in governance of various schemes.
• There is a proposal to create in the course of the year, "India Microfinance Equity Fund" of `100 crore with SIDBI.
• To empower women and promote their Self Help Groups (SHGs), there is a proposal to create a “Women’s SHG’s Development Fund” with a corpus of `500 crore.
• There is a proposal to provide Rs. 3,000 crore to NABARD, in phases for handloom weaver cooperative societies. The initiative would benefit 15,000 cooperative societies and about 3 lakh handloom weavers.
• The total allocation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) has been increased from Rs. 6,755 crore in 2010-11 to Rs. 7,860 crore in 2011-12.
• In order to make Green Revolution reach the Eastern Region, allocation of Rs. 400 crore has been made.
• There is a proposal to provide an amount of Rs. 300 crore to promote 60,000 pulses villages in rainfed areas for increasing crop productivity and strengthening market linkages.
• There is a proposal of an amount of Rs. 300 crore to bring 60,000 hectares under oil palm plantation, by integrating the farmers with the markets. The initiative will yield about 3 lakh metric tonnes of palm oil annually in 5 years.
• There is a proposal to provide an amount of Rs. 300 crore for implementation of vegetable initiative to set in motion a virtuous cycle of higher production and incomes for the farmers.
• A provision of Rs. 300 crore is being made to promote higher production of coarse cereals (bajra, ragi, millets), upgrade their processing technologies and create awareness regarding their health benefits.
• The National Mission for Protein Supplements is being launched in 2011-12 with an allocation of Rs. 300 crore.
• There is a proposal to provide Rs. 300 crore for Accelerated Fodder Development Programme which will benefit farmers in 25,000 villages.
• There has been deterioration in soil health due to removal of crop residues and indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers, aided by distorted prices. To address these issues, the Government proposes to promote organic farming methods, combining modern technology with traditional farming practices like green manuring, biological pest control and weed management.
• For the year 2011-12, there has been a raise in the target of credit flow to the farmers from Rs. 3,75,000 crore this year to Rs. 4,75,000 crore in 2011-12. Banks have been asked to step up direct lending for agriculture and credit to small and marginal farmers.
• The existing operational norms of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan have been revised to implement the right of children to free and compulsory education which has come into force with effect from April 1, 2010. For the year 2011-12, there is a proposal to allocate Rs. 21,000 crore which is 40 per cent higher than Rs. 15,000 crore allocated in the Budget for 2010-11.
Source: Budget Speech 2011-12 delivered by Pranab Mukherjee, http://indiabudget.nic.in/bspeecha.asp
