PM addresses nation and announces extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana; As the fight against coronavirus shifts to Unlock 2, PM asks everyone to follow regulations with same seriousness as during Lockdown

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today addressed the nation and announced the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till the end of November.

Helping hand to the poor

Prime Minister emphasized that provision of food to those in need during lockdown has been the foremost priority of the country. As soon as lockdown was announced, the government brought about PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, under which a package of Rs 1.75 lakh crore (US$ 24.83 billion) for the poor was announced.

He noted that in the last three months, Rs 31,000 crore (US$ 4.40 billion) has been transferred in the Jan Dhan accounts of almost 20 crore poor families, Rs 18,000 crore (US$ 2.55 billion) has been transferred to the bank accounts of more than 9 crore farmers and Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.09 billion) is being spent on PM Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, which has been started to provide employment opportunities.

Extension of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till November

Prime Minister observed that the enormity of the decision to provide free ration for three months to more than 80 crore people ie providing 5 kg free rice/wheat to each member of the family, along with providing 1 kg pulses to each family, per month, has made the entire world take notice. The number of people who were provided free ration is several times the population of many large countries, he said.

Prime Minister noted that with the commencement of the rainy season, most of the work takes place in the agriculture sector. Also, several festivals take place one after the other, including Guru Purnima, Raksha bandhan, Shri Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Dussehra, Deepawali, Chhath Puja, among others. He announced that keeping in mind that requirements as well as expenditure increase during this time, the government has decided to extend PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till Deepawali and Chhath Puja, i.e. the scheme will continue to remain applicable from July till the end of November. During this five-month period, more than 80 crore people will be provided 5 kg free wheat/rice per month. Along with providing 5 kg free rice/wheat to each member of a family, 1 kg free whole chana will also be provided to each family per month.

The government will spend more than Rs 90,000 crore (US$ 12.77 billion) towards the extension of the scheme, the Prime Minister said, adding that if the amount spent towards it in the previous three months is added together, a total of almost Rs 1.5 lakh crore (US$ 21.28 billion) would be spent towards the scheme. He credited and thanked the hard-working farmers and honest taxpayers for making it possible for the government to procure and distribute free food grains.

Prime Minister underlined that the country is moving towards the institution of ‘one nation, one ration card’, which will be of immense benefit to the poor who travel to other states in search of work.

Staying safe during Unlock 2

Prime Minister noted that the shift of the fight against coronavirus to Unlock 2 coincides with the weather which results in several ailments. He asked everyone to take care of their health. He observed that due to timely decisions like lockdown, it has been possible to save the lives of lakhs of people and the death rate in the country is amongst the lowest in the world. However, irresponsible and negligent behaviour has been on the rise during Unlock 1, he said, adding that earlier people were more careful about usage of mask, washing hands for more than 20 seconds several times during the day and maintaining ‘do gazdoori’. He emphasized that when more being more careful is necessary, rise of negligence is a cause of concern.

Prime Minister said that regulations need to be followed with the same seriousness as during Lockdown, especially in the Containment Zones. He exhorted people to spread awareness amongst those not following such rules and regulations, giving example of the Prime Minister of a country being fined Rs 13,000 (US$ 184.42) for not wearing mask in a public place. He said that local administration in India will need to act with same alacrity, since no one, including the Prime Minister, is above the rule of law.

Looking ahead

Prime Minister said that in the coming times, government will continue to take further steps to empower the poor and the needy. Economic activities will also be enhanced, with due precautions in place. He reiterated the pledge to work towards Atmanirbhar Bharat and to be vocal for local, while also asking people to be careful, use mask/face cover and continue following the mantra of maintaining ‘do gaz doori’.

Loans worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore sanctioned under ECLGS; More than 30 lakh units of MSMEs & other businesses received help under the Scheme

Under the 100 per cent Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) backed by a Government guarantee, Banks from Public and Private Sectors have sanctioned loans worth over Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 14.19 billion) as of June 26, 2020, of which more than Rs 45,000 crore (US$ 6.38 billion) has already been disbursed.  This would help more than 30 lakh units of MSMEs and other businesses restart their businesses post the lockdown.

PSBs have sanctioned loans of Rs 57,525.47 crore (US$ 8.16 billion) whereas Private Sector Banks have sanctioned loans of Rs 44,335.52 crore (US$ 6.29 billion) under ECLGS. The top lenders under the Scheme are SBI, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Canara Bank and HDFC.

COAI, 5G-ACIA sign MoU to shape 5G for India's manufacturing industry

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with global forum, 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation, or 5G-ACIA, to give shape to India’s 5G mobile communications in different industries, especially in the manufacturing and process sectors.

The technology is yet to be launched in India. Although, the spectrum auction to roll out 5G services in the country is scheduled for this year. The government is yet to decide on the date of it.

The MoU is a not-for-profit type and will be valid for three years till 2022. It will facilitate cooperation between the country’s apex telecom association and the global platform on issues related to 5G and its adoption for industry automation across sectors.

According to a statement released by the COAI, “Under the partnership, both bodies will identify topics of common interest and work to strengthen their relationship and foster closer cooperation on common agenda by joint participation in events, meetings, promotional activities and many other joint initiatives".

According to the 5G-ACIA’s LinkedIn page, it is the central global forum for shaping 5G in the industrial domain. On the platform, various industries from all over the world jointly create a new information and communications technology (ICT) and operation technology (OT) ecosystem and set framework for a highly attractive emerging market.

“We are excited to partner with the 5G-ACIA, as we endeavour to continuously build our understanding and expertise towards the advancement of modern communication in the country. We truly believe that this partnership will be mutually beneficial and build on insights and learnings to shape Industrial 5G mobile communications and technology effectively" said Mr Rajan S Mathews, director general, COAI.

It is expected that 5G technology will act as a driving force and have a significant impact on design, operation and maintenance of factories and their production across the world. In India, the contribution of manufacturing is about 15 per cent of the overall GDP and supporting the sector with 5G will be crucial, said Mr Andreas Müller, chairman of 5G-ACIA.

“The world is looking towards India how it shapes its Industry 4.0 revolution and high-performance wireless communication services as provided by 5G certainly represent a critical enabler in this respect. We are very happy to partner with COAI towards the growth of such technologies and excited to share knowledge and collaborate on various topics of mutual interest with one common goal: Making Industrial 5G become a major success," Mr Muller said.

On the call of Prime Minister, Culture Ministry to celebrate "Sankalp Parva" to plant trees from 28th June to 12 July 2020

Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi has called for planting at least five trees either in Office campus or wherever it is possible, to ensure clean and healthy environment of the country. Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent charge) Shri Prahlad Singh Patel today called for successful organizing of “Sankalp Parva” and plant trees as desired by our Prime Minister.

 Shri Patel informed that the Ministry of Culture has decided to celebrate Sankalp Parva from 28th June to 12 July 2020, wherein Ministry expects all its Subordinate Offices, Academies, Attached Institutions, Affiliated Institutions to plant trees in its campus or at the surroundings wherever it is possible. He added that the Ministry of Culture recommends to plants five trees which have been identified by our Prime Minister and which represent the herbal heritage of our country. These trees are (i) “Bargad” (ii) “Awla” (iii) “Pepal” (iv) “Ashok” (v) “Bel”. He further said that if sapling of these trees is not available then people may do plantation of any other sapling of their choice. 

Shri Patel also said that the organizations must ensure that each employee should plant at least one tree of his/her choice and over and above these five trees which should be planted as per the call of the Prime Minister. The Institutions must also ensure that the employee takes care of plant planted by them during the year so that it survives and flourishes.

Shri Patel has urged all to participate in the Sankalp Parv and share the photo of plantation with #संकल्पपर्व #SankalpParv with Ministry of Culture. He said that monsoon season has started, which is right time for plantation. We have seen the importance of clean and healthy environment during this Pandemic and we are proud of our Herbal Wealth which has enough strength to enable us to sail through safely in the period of Pandemic. I urge everybody to participate in this Sankalp Parv and plant and take care of at least one plant, so we can create healthy environment and a flourishing “Bharat”.

 

Shri Arjun Munda launches Tribes India products on Gem and new website of TRIFED through video conference

The unprecedented situation in our country due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected all segments of our society. The livelihoods of the poor and marginalised communities have been seriously impacted and the tribal are some of the worst affected in these trying times. To ease the burden of the tribal artisans during such troubled times, TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal affairs has initiated several immediate initiatives to re-energise the lagging economic activity for sustaining the livelihood development of tribal. Addressing a video Conference to launch the Trifed Digital Platforms, through Video Conference, Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs said that the Team of “Trifed Warriors” will take Tribal Commerce based on forest produces, handlooms & handicrafts to a new high for transforming tribal lives and livelihoods. He stated that with more and more people going online to meet their various needs – be it for business operations, shopping and communication, an important strategic push has been to adopt an all-encompassing digitisation drive to map and link its village based tribal producers to the national and international markets setting up state of art e-platforms benchmarked to international standards.

This was the key focus area of the webinar ‘TRIFED Goes Digital’ and “Be Vocal for Local’ #GoTribal” which was organised by TRIFED today and was attended by over 200 participants. The main highlight was the launch of the TRIBES India products on the Government e-Marketplace  (GeM) (with a diverse range on display) and TRIFED’s new website (https://trifed.tribal.gov.in) by Shri Arjun Munda, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs. Shri Ramesh Chand Meena, Chairman, TRIFED, Smt. Pratibha Brahma, Board Member, TRIFED, Shri Rajeev Kandpal, JS& CFO, GeM and Smt Nanu Bhasin, ADG, PIB also attended the launch. The TRIFED team was represented by all the heads of departments and senior officials.

Expressing his hearty appreciation at the occasion, Shri Arjun Munda, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs first inaugurated the TRIBES India store on Government e-Marketplace which can now help in facilitating purchases by Government and then the revamped website (https://trifed.tribal.gov.in/), which has all relevant details about the schemes and initiatives underway to the benefit of tribal communities.

In his address, Shri Munda spoke about the unprecedented situation that our world is facing and how the migrant labour has suffered a lot. He expressed his pleasure at the efforts being put by “the TRIFED Warriors” and the Ministry officials to revive the flagging economic condition of the tribal artisans and tribal gatherers. He emphasised that empowering the tribal communities and utilising their skills, which has so far been disconnected from the mainstream, should be of prime focus and we should capitalise on opportunities that have been thrown open during the unprecedented situation.

Shri Munda opined that TRIFED plays a major role in connecting the tribals to the mainstream and congratulated the team for their two major initiatives being launched today. Using nuggets from philosophy and management principles and real-life examples, he shared his views on the road ahead for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and “the TRIFED Warriors” as they set about in their task to include the tribal communities in the mainstream. He urged them to focus on extracting and utilising the wealth of information and knowledge that the tribal communities have, especially with regard to the jungle, and how that can be used to not just benefit their community but also be of greater help to the country and people in these troubled times.

Post this detailed presentation on TRIFED’s activities, Shri Ramesh Chand Meena, Chairman, TRIFED congratulated the entire TRIFED team for its sustained efforts and was positive that the Rs 2 lakh crore (US$ 28.37 billion) tribal economy will definitely get doubled or trebled. Also, he was certain that these efforts would result in the products and produces of tribal gatherers and artisans would get maximum coverage – both in the country and abroad.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED thanked the Union Minister for his presence at the formal launch of the two digital initiatives through a webinar – a first definitely. Acknowledging the Union Minister’s unstinted support for the cause of tribal welfare, Shri Krishna spoke about TRIFED’s ambitious digitisation drive and how this is aimed at creating a level playing field for more than 50 lakh tribals (artisans, gatherers, dwellers) who will be connected with the mainstream using state-of-the art technology. Mr Krishna also thanked the GeM team for their cooperation in making the Tribes India store going live on GeM a reality.

Shri Rajeev Kandpal, JS& CFO, GeM in his address, spoke about how the TRIFED and GeM teams have worked hard under the overall guidance and leadership and this has resulted in the Tribes India store on GeM. Government Departments Ministries and PSUs can now access TRIBES India products via Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and shop as per GFR regulations. He pointed out that social inclusion was a major focus in GeM and that niche supplier segments such as start-ups, rural entrepreneurs, tribal entrepreneurs, women, tribals have been encouraged. Taking the example of the newly inaugurated Rural Development store, which has generated positive response.

Post this speech, a detailed presentation was made about the all-encompassing digital transformation strategy embarked upon by TRIFED and also the various measures put forth by the team to help ease the situation of the tribal community. The presentation began with a focus on the digital initiatives which are underway, especially two of which are being launched today. It also covered, at length, the measures taken by TRIFED and the Ministry of Tribal affairs to help ease the burden of tribals in the country. Touching upon both the MSP for MFP Scheme which has now emerged as a panacea for tribals with a total procurement of Rs 2,000 crore (US$ 283.73 million) (through government and private trade) and the successful implementation of the Van Dhan Yojana (Start-ups scheme), an initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which has resulted in the establishment of 1205 Tribal Enterprises and providing employment opportunities to 3.6 lakh tribal gatherers and 18,075 Self-help groups in 22 States, the presentation covered the impact of these and other initiatives. Outcomes from different champion states such as Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Manipur were highlighted as examples. The presentation also threw light on the other measures during this crisis.

TRIFED has issued Advisories relating to MFPs to be kept in mind during COVID-19, providing suggestive practices for maintaining personal hygiene, adopting cashless practices, among others. It is working on setting up of 15,000 ‘Van Dhan Social Distancing Awareness cum Livelihood Centres’ from the recently sanctioned Van Dhan SHGs among the 1205 Van Dhan Kendras. TRIFED has also collaborated with UNICEF for developing a digital communication strategy for promoting the Abhiyaan. Additionally, TRIFED has partnered with the Art of Living Foundation’s #iStandWithHumanity Initiative with a Stand with Tribal Families component in providing much needed food and ration for survival of the tribal community.

The digital strategy takes into account the entire supply-demand tribal chain, each and every stage, and includes a state-of-art website ((https://trifed.tribal.gov.in), which offers all information related to the organisaton and its various tribal welfare schemes; setting up of an e-Market Place for Tribal Artisans to trade and directly market their products; digitisation of all information related to the forest dwellers engaged in its VanDhan Yojana, village haats and warehouses to which they are linked.

Keeping every aspect of tribal lives and commerce in mind, TRIFED has also commenced the digitisation of the procurement of MFPs through government and private trade and the related payments to tribals. Leveraging the e-commerce boom, TRIBES India products are available at www.tribesindia.com with all regions working together to ensure that varieties and offerings of all kinds are readily accessible at other platforms such Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm, and Shopclues. These products range from creative masterpieces and artefacts such as Dokra metal craft pieces, beautiful pottery, different types of paintings to colourful, comfortable apparel, distinctive jewellery and organic and natural foods and beverages.

In addition, the Tribes India e-Marketplace, coming on the heels of the Retail Inventory Management System which has automated the sourcing and sale of stocks, is an ambitious initiative to on-board almost 5 lakh Tribal Artisans on the e- market platform to provide them access to national and international markets. This is likely to be commissioned by end July 2020.

TRIFED’s VanDhan Integrated Information Network facilitates the pooling of all information pertaining to forest dwellers engaged in Minimum Support Price Operations and its VanDhan Yojana linking them up to Village haats and Warehouses. This helps in monitoring the country wide programme and taking decisions to facilitate smooth implementation. This scheme has been implemented in 22 States touching the lives of almost 3,61,500 Tribals. The tribal clusters identified and mapped across the country are eligible beneficiaries under Atmanirbhar Abhiyan. The aim is to work in convergence with various Ministries and agencies and help bring the benefits to these vulnerable and distressed communities. TRIFED is equipped to advocate and support the tribal cause under Atmanirbhar Abhiyan.

Shri Anil Ramteke, ED, TRIFED concluded this inspiring and informative session with his Vote of Thanks. He thanked the Union Minister, Shri Arjun Munda for his inspiring and wise address and looked forward to his continued leadership and guidance.

KVIC empowers 80 potter's families in Varanasi, the new flag bearers of "Swadeshi Only"

The potters’ community in the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s constituency, Varanasi, is set to lead the country with “Swadeshi only” products this festive season. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is training the potters in Varanasi in making earthen lamps, sculptures of deities and other pottery items as part of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”.

KVIC Chairman Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena distributed electric potter wheels to 80 potters’ families belonging from four villages namely Itahradih, Ahrauradih, Arjunpur and Chak Sahjangiganj today. Each of these villages houses nearly 150 to 200 potter families who have been engaged with pottery-making for many generations. However, due to old techniques of hand driven Chaaks, drudgery involved in manual clay making and lack of marketing support, they took up alternative sources of livelihood over the years. KVIC has set a target of distributing 1500 potter wheels in Varanasi in the next 3 months.

The KVIC is also set to distribute 300 electric potter wheels and other equipment to 300 migrant workers’ families in Sewapuri in Varanasi who have returned from other states facing economic distress in wake of the COVID-19 lockdown. KVIC has already trained 60 migrant workers’ families so far and pottery tool kit will be distributed to 300 families next month. This is estimated to create nearly 1200 jobs for the migrant’s labourers in Varanasi alone. The exercise aims at creating local jobs for the distressed migrant workers so that they do not need to migrate to other cities in search of livelihood.

Old beneficiaries of Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana present on the occasion spoke to the KVIC Chairman via videoconference. Kishan Prajapati, a potter, said he sold nearly 3000 Kulhars every day at the Varanasi Cantt railway station after he received the electric potter wheel from KVIC under Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana. Another beneficiary of the scheme, Akshay Kumar Prajapati told that he was able to sell nearly 4000 kulhars and plates in the local Choona market in Mirzapur district and was financially self-dependent now. Another potter, Dayashankar Prajapati, said he was earning a good livelihood by selling nearly 3500 earthen glasses used for serving milk at Manduadih railway station in Varanasi. Potters said they were earning nearly Rs 20,000 (US$ 283.72) a month by selling earthen pots.

Potters in these villages of Varanasi have been specially making earthen magic lamps, traditional lamps (Deeya) and sculptures of Laxmi and Ganesh keeping in view the upcoming festivals of Dussehra and Deepawali. The idea is also to dissuade people from buying Chinese lights and other articles during the festive season.

The KVIC Chairman said Varanasi is known for its huge potential in the field of pottery making. “Several villages in Varanasi have already been benefitted under the Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana. KVIC is soon going to set up a cluster under SFURTI Scheme of the Ministry of MSME in Varanasi. The cluster will facilitate nearly 500 artisans to work together at a well-equipped place,” Saxena said.

Notably, Varanasi is an aspirational district identified by the Niti Ayog and the KVIC has taken Sewapuri on a priority basis for development of Khadi and village industries activities and encouraging pottery by training the artisans. KVIC has so far distributed over 17,000 electric potter wheels across the country.

Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers' Welfare, Government of India hosts two webinars on Reforms in Indian Agriculture, Strategic Policy Shifts and Investment Opportunities; India is now the 2nd largest aquaculture producer in the world and 4th largest sea food exporter; About 57 crore animals to have unique ID over next 1.5 years on digital platform for mapping their parentage, breed and productivity

Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India hosted two webinars on 25th & 26th June 2020 – the first webinar was on the topic “Landmark Reforms in Indian Agriculture – Investment Opportunities Arising in Agri Enterprises”, while the second webinar dealt with “Ushering a new dawn in Agri Reforms – Strategic Policy Shifts : The Policy Makers’ View”. The webinars were addressed by Shri Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Dr Rajeev Ranjan, Secretary, Fisheries and Smt. Pushpa Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Food Processing, Government of India.

While addressing the webinars, Shri Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, appreciated the path-breaking futuristic steps taken by the Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the agriculture sector and welfare of farmers, during the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The competence of Indian farmers and efforts of the industry in this crisis situation is evident by the fact that the area covered by kharif sowing this year is 316 lakh ha as compared to 154 lakh ha last year and an average of 187 lakh ha during the last five years.

Shri Sanjay Agarwal emphasized that India has a strong advantage in the Agriculture sector which contributes to about 15 per cent of the GDP and livelihood for more than 50 per cent of the population. The country is the fourth largest producer of agrochemicals, has the largest livestock population of around 31 per cent of world’s livestock and largest land area under irrigation. However, food processing in India is less than 10 per cent and the target is to increase it to 25 per cent. There is increasing demand for value-added health-fortified and processed food. The global organic market is growing at 12 per cent per annum. He reiterated that developing a strong Agri ecosystem by providing access to better marketing avenues for farmers’ produce and freeing up the sector from restrictive laws is a key focus area for the government, for which three new ordinances have been announced recently. The agri ecosystem is also being strengthened by several enabling schemes like the Agri Infra Fund of Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 14.19 billion) for post-harvest infrastructure, scheme for 10,000 FPOs, special drive to include 25 million farmers who still do not have the KCC, and developing a digital agri-stack which will be a key enabler for online market places and smart agriculture. The Secretary, Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, projected an aspirational vision for ‘Atmanirbhar Agriculture’ by transforming farmers into entrepreneurs with higher incomes and better quality of life, making agriculture the “go to” investment opportunity, and making India the “Food Basket” for the world.

Comparing livestock rearing to an ATM machine for farmers, Shri Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, said that no product is as fast moving as milk for a retailer. However, the per capita consumption of milk in India is still only 394 gms per day as compared to 500-700 gms per day in US and Europe. The aim is to raise market demand in dairy sector from 158 million mt tonne presently to 290 million mt tonnes over next five years. The share of the organized sector in milk processing is targeted to be raised to 50 per cent from present 30-35 per cent.

Shri Chaturvedi said that Government of India has taken several measures to boost the animal husbandry sector. This includes giving one billion doses of vaccine in a year for FMD which is a bigger drive than in any other country to ensure that cattle are disease-free; animal tagging of five species through Pashu-Aadhar – about 57 crore animals will have unique ID over next 1.5 years on digital platform for mapping their parentage, breed and productivity; improving cattle breeds through artificial insemination, IVF and surrogacy; and aiming to unleash rural entrepreneurs by growing better feed and fodder for animals. Several incentives have been announced like Dairy Infra Development Fund in 2018 and Animal Husbandry Infra Development Fund this month.

Describing fisheries as a sunrise sector, Dr Rajeev Ranjan, Secretary, Fisheries, said that from 2014-15 to 2018-19, fisheries sector has grown by 10.87 per cent, fish production by 7.53 per cent, fisheries exports have grown by 9.71 per cent and India’s global share of fish production has grown to 7.73 per cent. India is now the 2nd largest aquaculture producer in the world and 4th largest sea food exporter. The USPs of the fisheries sector are its high growth rate, vast and diverse resources, low investment with high returns, low gestation period, strong technical backup, huge consumer base and export opportunities.

Dr Rajeev Ranjan projected the key targets of Government of India in this sector in next five years – fish production targeted to be raised from 137.58 lakh tons in 2018-19 to 220 lakh tons in 2024-25, average aquaculture productivity to be raised from 3.3 tons/ha to 5.0 tons/ha in 2024-25, fisheries exports to Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 14.19 billion) by 2024-25 and Rs 2 lakh crore (US$ 28.37 billion) by 2028, and employment generation from about 15 lakhs in 2018-19 to about 55 lakhs in 2024-25. He also elaborated on the recent policy reforms and government initiatives in fisheries sector like Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund and KCC facility to fishermen. The Secretary outlined the investment opportunities in fish farming like brackish water aquaculture, cage farming, seaweed farming, ornamental fisheries, and in support services like brood banks, hatcheries, feed manufacturing, value chain and processing, etc.