Overview

• At a Koppal event, the finance minister urged farmers to tap PMFME and PMDDKY to make agriculture more profitable.
• The Farmers' Training and Common Facility Centre was built with her MPLAD funds with support from NABARD and the Karnataka government.
• The FSSAI‑certified centre can process and store 840 tonnes of mango and 600 tonnes of papaya, with NABARD providing training for users.
• She said PMFME has disbursed over Rs 3,700 crore to states since 2020, Rs 11,000 crore in loans have been sanctioned, and more than one lakh agri‑entrepreneurs have emerged.
• Recent GST changes cut or waive taxes on farm equipment, solar power, tractors and machinery to 5% from 12%, with lower rates also for bio‑pesticides, micronutrients and bio‑fertilisers; she also noted 43 lakh Karnataka farmers receive Rs 6,000 a year under PM‑KISAN.