Rs 300 crores released for east India agriculture

New Delhi, Jan 30 (IBNS) The Government of India said it has released Rs 332.87 crore to seven states for extending green revolution to east India in the current financial year (2011-12) on Monday.

The government has allotted Rs 400 crore for this sub-scheme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) for this year.

This program targets improvement in the rice based cropping system in the selected states of Eastern India.

According to data, the eastern part of India incurred 2-3 times more rainfall compared to the northwest states and has unexploited good quality ground water aquifers, and vast resources of social capital have relative advantage for sustainable production of rice, banana, sugarcane and aquaculture.

But in spite of availability of natural resources, the agricultural productivity in this region is comparatively low.

This scheme is aimed at increasing crop productivity of the region by intensive cultivation through promotion of recommended agricultural technologies and package of practices.

Earlier, in 1963, Dr Norman Borlaug had first introduced genetically modified high-yielding wheat and he has been hailed as the ´Father of the Green Revolution´.

The Green Revolution refers to the increase in food production and in production of non-food items that has significantly and steadily taken place in India since 1966.