Amid the rapid spread of COVID-19, Haryana has been at the forefront of the fight against this challenge. At the same time, the wheat supply is in full swing in mandis and all COVID protocols are followed. Haryana has always taken the initiative in pioneering governance models and their implementation. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has always emphasized that the full benefit of each policy must reach the targeted beneficiary.

Under his leadership, the state government documented and digitized the records of all farming families through the revolution Parivar Pehchan Patra, which ensures that payment for the purchase of crops directly reaches farmers in Haryana. Doubling farmers’ incomes is the stated goal of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi; our pioneering system of direct payments to farmers is trying to make its vision a reality on the ground.

Enabling Direct Benefit Shifting (DBT) is Haryana’s successful digitization of agricultural land registers and linking them to the digital identity and bank accounts of individual farmers. The digitized agricultural land register also provides details of the crop planted in each season. From now on, each farmer registers on Meri Fasal Mera Byora sell their products in the mandis; all of these details are automatically linked and verified through a transparent process.

This not only reduced the waiting time to sell the products, but more importantly accelerated the schedule of payments to farmers in less than 72 hours, once they received the “Form I”. This is a significant improvement over when the farmer would get the payment of arhatiyas after weeks. More importantly, previously, the relationship between the farmer (seller) and the government (buyer) could not be formally established. But now it exists formally on a digital channel.

In the event of a delay in payment to farmers, the state government pays interest at the rate of 9 percent. There are around 11,000 farmers whose payments were delayed by one day (after issuing “Form I”); therefore, the state government issued Rs 20 lakh as interest to these farmers. It is not only farmers who benefit from the direct payment; Even the arhatiyas‘the commission is transferred directly to their account without delay. This should improve the cash flow of the arhatiyas and they don’t have to worry about their commission indefinitely.

Haryana was expecting around 80 metric tonnes of lakh wheat this Rabi season; 79 lakh metric tons have already arrived in the mandis, of which 74 lakh metric tons have been purchased as of April 26, and Rs 6,800 crore have been disbursed with the money reaching the farmers’ accounts directly. Such a quick refund has never happened before. This convinced the farmers of Haryana of our government’s commitment to their general well-being. This time, the wheat supply may exceed all expectations and the state could cross 90 lakh metric tonnes by May 15. Last year, 74 lakh metric tons of wheat were purchased by government agencies during the Rabi season, and in 2019 it stood at 87 lakh metric tons.

In addition to digitizing and registering farmers, the responsibility of purchasing this season’s Rabi crop has been assigned to the deputy commissioner of each district. As a result, the whole process is being carried out much more efficiently than ever. I have visited a few mandis every day since Rabi’s supply season started on April 1. I have no doubts this season will see the fastest lead time to payout in Indian history.

Due to the delegation of the supply to the assistant commissioners, the scheduling and logistical problems (entry, weighing, bagging and lifting of the grain and its dispatch to the descent) have been resolved. The farmer no longer has to wait weeks at mandis to weigh and bag their harvest. Now the mandis are not overcrowded or overwhelmed. The crop is quickly lifted and transported as soon as it is bagged. It is a massive operation involving thousands of trucks and several thousand people, with deputy commissioners overseeing the entire operation, across Haryana.

These improvements will significantly increase the income of farmers in the future. Digitizing purchase payments will give us the data to understand issues related to farmers’ land ownership, land productivity and real incomes, at a granular level. The problem is not the same everywhere; in agriculture, the single model does not work. Our system will allow us to customize the solutions offered to meet the unique needs of each farmer.

An important part of the Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal is the data on the productivity of the land of each farmer. This is the most crucial part of the problem. Until now, our agronomists have offered generic solutions, such as “add more manure” or “do drip irrigation”. Productivity data for each crop can be analyzed and specific custom solutions can be provided to each kisan. This will help us achieve our goal of doubling farmers’ incomes within a few years.

Warning:The author is Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare in the Government of Haryana. The opinions expressed are personal.

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HSBC and first direct are currently offering change deals for new customers and recently Martin Lewis urged savers to look into them as M&S Bank is about to close their checking accounts. As Martin detailed in mid-March: “M&S Bank will close up to 300,000 people’s current accounts.

“As we adapt to meet the changing needs of our customers and deliver new, more digitally-focused products and services, unfortunately this will mean we will move away from in-branch service and the 29 in-store and checking bank branches. partner will be closed this summer.

“We are now firmly focused on supporting our clients and colleagues throughout this change and on implementing our transformation plans, which will create rewarding new payment solutions for M&S buyers, at the same time. both in store and online. “

However, following this announcement, HSBC UK and first direct confirmed today that their switch offers are extended to all M&S current account customers, who will now be able to benefit from the offer available at the time of the switch.

These changes will apply from March 4 and, as such, they will be applied retrospectively for anyone who started their change from that date.

M&S Bank isn’t the only company to cut services recently, with Santander also revealing plans today to close 111 branches in 2021.

Santander announced the plans in response to changes underway among customers towards mobile and online banking, a trend that has been accelerated by the coronavirus.

Adam Bishop, Director of Santander Branches, commented on this: “The use of branches by customers has decreased significantly in recent years, so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have several branches. relatively close to each other.

“The majority of branches that close are within three miles of another branch and the furthest is five miles away.

“We will provide all the necessary support to clients who are closing branches to find alternative ways of banking with us that best meet their individual needs.

“We are also working alongside our unions to support our colleagues in these changes and to find alternative roles for those affected where possible.

“We continue to believe that branches have an important role to play and we expect our network size to remain stable for the foreseeable future.

“We are committed to supporting our customers and responding to changes in the way customers want to access services. “

Do you have a financial dilemma on which you would like the advice of a financial expert? If you would like to ask a question of one of our financial experts, please email your query to [email protected]com.

KOLKATA: Lok Sabha Congressman Adhir Chowdhury said on Wednesday the party would provide a direct cash transfer to all the poor in the state if elected to power.
The congressman criticized West Bengal’s TMC government for failing to do anything for migrant workers who returned to the state during the lockdown.
Chowdhury said Congress discussed the proposal to transfer money directly to migrant workers in an effort to ensure that the poor have enough cash in the lockdown and post-lockdown situation and that the Center announced a Rs 50,000 crore project for them.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had advocated giving cash to every poor person in the country as a party poll pledge ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, he said.
“It was not an empty promise. In Chhatisgarh, we have already poured over 5,700 rupees into the pockets of every poor person. We will ensure that it is also implemented in West Bengal if we are elected to power. in the 2021 state elections, “said the congressman. noted.
He said this was due to the attitude of the West Bengal government that migrant workers from Bengal had not yet enjoyed the benefits of the central project, as the state had not sent the required list of districts with 25,000 migrant workers.
Expressing doubts that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was “at all concerned” about the plight of migrant workers who left the state after the lockdown, he said in a video message: “Didi (Banerjee) has at least a thought for them. After suffering such severe financial distress while in confinement and returning to their home country, they had to leave as they found few job opportunities here. ”
Emphasizing that migrant workers contribute to the state’s economy by sending money to their families, Chowdhury, who is also the president of the WBPCC, said: “But you (Banerjee) don’t have time to think of them “.
He said: “State migrant workers are deprived of the central package because you did not send the names of districts with 25,000 migrant workers, which is a criterion to get the fund.
“While many other states like Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh have been able to benefit from the fund for their migrant workers by compiling the required list and sending it to the Center, West Bengal has played traun… Mamata Banerjee’s government doesn’t seem to have a plan for its own people, ”he said.
Comparing the announcement by the TMC government of several welfare campaigns ahead of the assembly ballot at the end of the season “sale of Chaitra” (discount offers from Bengal traders during the Hindu month of Chaitra to attract customers before the Bengali New Year), the congressman said “Suddenly, Didi woke up to people’s problems after ten years in power.”
“With the elections approaching, she (Banerjee) announces one project after another. From ‘Didi ke bolo’ (Tell Didi), to ‘Duare Sarkar’ (government at the door) to ‘Paray Paray Samadhan’ issues) .
“You (Banerjee) are talking about Swasthya Sathi. Do you believe in state health programs? Otherwise, why are your loved ones going to seek treatment abroad? ” he said.
Chowdhury alleged that the West Bengal government also does not care about the increase in commodity prices.
The Congress leader demanded that members of the Kurmi community living in Purulia receive ST status.
“Once I have raised the issue in Parliament and raised the issue with the Center. I was told that the Center will do its part once the government passes a resolution in the assembly to grant ST status to the Kurmi community. So please do what is necessary, ”he added.