New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
along with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, will address
chief secretaries of states on Saturday to discuss measures to
prop up farm production in view of the poor monsoon.
"The Prime Minister will be interacting with the chief
secretaries on the drought-like situation in the country.
"Though normally the Prime Minister addresses Chief
Ministers, because of the urgency of the issue, both the PM
and the Agriculture Minister have decided to attend the
meeting along with the Cabinet Secretary," a source in the
Prime Minister's Office said.
Singh also wants to prepare the bureaucracy in the states
to counter any emergency arising out of the monsoon situation,
they added.
The Prime Minister is likely to review the status of
monsoon and the sowing operation in the ongoing kharif season
along with the availability of vital farm inputs like seeds,
fertilisers, water and electricity.
The meeting may also feature preparing for the coming
Rabi season, revision in the macro-management of agriculture
schemes, the availability of farm credit, and renewed focus on
Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana, under which states are
incentivised for raising investment in the farm sector.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, August 08, 2009, 11:40