Govt accelerating irrigation projects
The Centre has stepped up efforts to modernise India’s farm sector by accelerating irrigation projects, promoting digital agriculture and tightening regulation of agricultural inputs, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Parliament.
Replying to a discussion in the Lok Sabha, the minister highlighted that long-pending irrigation and river-linking projects are being fast-tracked under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana. Of 140 major irrigation projects, 99 that had seen little progress earlier are now being expedited, with the aim of expanding irrigation coverage to around 2.7 million hectares of farmland.
He also pointed to renewed momentum in interlinking rivers, especially the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project, which is expected to address both flood and drought challenges in parts of central India.
On the technology front, the government is pushing digital agriculture to improve efficiency, transparency and farmer access to services. The reforms are aimed at boosting farmer incomes while ensuring better delivery of schemes and real-time data-driven decision-making in farming.
A major focus is also on curbing the sale of substandard farm inputs. The Centre plans to introduce stricter laws governing seeds and pesticides to crack down on what the minister termed the “seed–fertiliser–pesticide mafia.” He noted that only about 500 out of nearly 8,000 biostimulant products meet scientific standards set by institutions such as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
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The combined push on irrigation, digital systems and regulatory reforms reflects the government’s broader strategy to transform agriculture, enhance productivity and ensure quality inputs for farmers across the country.
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