Farmers gathered at the ICAR–Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI), Coimbatore, to witness the livestreaming of the national launch of the Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PM-DDKY) and the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
With a combined budget of ₹35,440 crore, the twin initiatives aim to accelerate agricultural growth and ensure self-sufficiency in pulses. The PM-DDKY brings together 36 sub-schemes under 11 ministries, focusing on developing 100 aspirational districts, while the Pulses Mission seeks to reduce India’s reliance on imports. The Prime Minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation for over 1,100 projects worth ₹42,000 crore across agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and food processing sectors—expected to modernize rural infrastructure through cold storages, processing units, and warehouses.
Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Minister of State Shri Bhagirath Choudhary participated in the national event. At the Coimbatore institute, an awareness campaign was organized to help farmers understand various government schemes. Shri Amman K. Arjunan, MLA for Coimbatore North, inaugurated the event and appreciated the institute’s 114-year contribution to sugarcane improvement. He encouraged farmers to make full use of schemes like the National Mission on Natural Farming and PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana.
Dr. P. Govindaraj, Director of ICAR–SBI, presided and highlighted the benefits of the newly launched programmes and the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund. Over 330 farmers attended, with sessions by experts from ICAR institutes and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University covering topics such as intercropping pulses with sugarcane, mechanization, variety protection, and natural farming.
Dr. S. Alarmelu, Principal Scientist, proposed the vote of thanks, marking the close of the interactive and informative session.
