New Delhi, 15 Feb

The Centre has approved procurement of 1.39 lakh tonne of Bengal gram (chana) from Karnataka in the 2023-24 rabi season under the Price Support Scheme (PSS), Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje said on Thursday.

Besides, the Centre has released the third instalment of Rs 235.14 crore under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) to the Karnataka government for the 2023-24 fiscal, the minister said.

Karandlaje said the Agriculture Ministry on Thursday approved the "procurement of Bengal Gram (Channa) in Karnataka under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) at MSP of Rs 5,440 per quintal for a maximum quantity of 1,39,740 tonne for Rabi 2023-24 season," an official statement said.

Regarding the release of funds under the RKVY scheme to the state, the minister said the third instalment of Rs 235.14 crore will be utilised by the Karnataka government for the implementation of the eight components under the RKVY scheme.

The amount approved will be utilised for the improvement of infrastructure in the agriculture sector under the components for the construction of godowns, water harvesting structures, the establishment of primary demonstration units, procurement of tractors, power tillers and drones, promotion of integrated farming, soil health fertility and setting up of custom hiring centres, etc, she added.

The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare also mentioned that the Centre on January 25 gave an additional allocation of Rs 178.65 crore to Karnataka under the RKVY scheme.

With this, the total allocation under the RKVY Scheme has increased to Rs 761.89 crore for 2023-24, higher than the initial allocation of Rs 583.24 crore for the same period, she said.

To date, the Centre has released a total amount of Rs 526.75 crore out of the total allocation of Rs 761.89 crore, and the remaining amount will be released after utilisation of the amount already released to the state, the statement said.