Team News Riveting
New Delhi, December
Prime Minister Narendra Modi observed that private sector investment in agriculture in India was not up to the mark.
Delivering the inaugural address at FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting, he said in the fields of supply chain, cold storage and areas like fertilizers etc, both interest and investment of the private sector was needed. There is a huge scope in rural agro-based industries and a friendly policy regime is in place for that, he added.
The Prime Minister dwelled on the steps to help the farmers and the agri-sector at length. Modi said, “through policy and intention (niti aur niyat), the Government is committed to the welfare of the farmers.
Noting the increasing vibrancy of the agri-sector, Modi talked of new alternatives available to the farmers to sell their produce outside the mandis, modernization of mandis and option of selling produce on electronic platforms. All this is directed to make the farmer prosperous as a prosperous farmer means prosperous nation, he said.
Making a strong pitch for the positive change happening in the rural, semi-rural and tier-2 and tier-3 cities, the Prime Minister invited the senior business and industry leaders to take benefit of the opportunities in such areas. He informed that the number of the Internet users in the rural areas has surpassed the cities and more than half of India’s start-ups are in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Mentioning recently approved PM-WANI for public Wi-Fi hotspots, he said that entrepreneurs should become partners in the rural connectivity efforts. “It was certain that in 21st century, India’s growth would be driven by villages and the small cities and entrepreneurs like you should not lose out on the opportunity to invest in the villages and small cities. Your investment will open new doors for our brothers and sisters in the rural areas and the agriculture sector” the Prime Minister said.
