Overview

• On May 27 in New Delhi, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said individual incomes must grow eightfold to define Viksit Bharat and clarified the term refers to overall development rather than global GDP ranking.
• He called on farmers to diversify beyond crop cultivation by exploring agro‐based products and expanding into animal husbandry to broaden their revenue sources.
• Dhankhar highlighted that farmers currently have minimal roles in the food-processing industry and stressed they should be integrated into value-addition stages based on their produce.
• The Congress party welcomed his comments and urged the government to implement policies addressing farmers’ concerns and supporting their shift into agro-processing and livestock ventures.
• Paying tribute to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on his death anniversary, Dhankhar invoked Singh’s legacy of agricultural advocacy in framing the discussion on rural income growth.