Ficci hails govt for extending PM-KISAN scheme to all farmers

The revised scheme will now cover 2 crore more farmers increasing the coverage to around 14.5 crore beneficiaries.

Ficci also said that Indian agriculture is yet to realise its full potential and welcomed the government's resolve to address challenges in the sector in a comprehensive manner.

Direct income transfer is recognised as one of the most effective ways of targeting support to the farm sector, it said.

The body supports a gradual shift from loosely targeted input subsidies to direct benefits transfer to enable farmers to make choices in expenditure based on local priorities and exigencies.

"We urge the Prime Minister to follow up this excellent decision with further reform measures in a time bound manner to kick start a virtuous cycle of growth and value addition in the agriculture sector," Ficci President Sandip Somany said.

Also read: FICCI survey puts Q4 GDP growth at 6.5%

Also read: India's GDP growth forecast at 7.1% for FY20: FICCI