PM Modi To Lead Budget Webinar On Agriculture Transformation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a post-Budget webinar on Friday focusing on the theme ‘Agriculture and Rural Transformation’.

The government will conduct the programme through video conferencing to discuss key measures announced in the Union Budget 2026-27.

The event will bring together policymakers, industry representatives and experts to discuss strategies for strengthening India’s agricultural and rural sectors.

Under this theme, the Prime Minister will lead eight separate webinar sessions covering four key sectors. These sectors include agriculture, animal husbandry and dairying, fisheries, and rural livelihoods.

The deliberations will highlight ways to promote high-value agriculture by harnessing the potential of crops such as cashew, coconut, sandalwood, agarwood, almonds, walnuts and pine nuts.

Participants will also review opportunities associated with Bharat Vistaar, an AI-driven Digital Public Infrastructure designed for the agriculture sector.

Another important topic will be improving access to markets for goods produced by rural women entrepreneurs through Self-Help Entrepreneurs-Marketing Avenues for Rural Transformation (SHE-Marts).

Budget Push for Agriculture and Allied Activities

The Union Budget 2026-27 places considerable emphasis on high-value agriculture, allied activities and technology-enabled farming practices.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated Rs 1,62,671 crore for the agriculture sector, which represents a 7 per cent rise from the revised estimate of Rs 1,51,853 crore for 2025-26.

The Budget proposes stronger support for the cultivation of high-value crops across different regions of the country. Coastal areas are expected to benefit from initiatives supporting crops such as coconut, sandalwood, cocoa and cashew, aimed at improving farmers’ earnings.

Similarly, cultivation of agarwood in the North Eastern region and nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pine nuts in hilly areas will receive policy backing to enhance productivity and income.

The government has proposed a Coconut Promotion Scheme to increase production by replacing ageing and unproductive trees with new saplings and improved varieties in major coconut-producing states.

Additionally, the Budget outlines a dedicated programme for Indian cashew and cocoa to boost domestic production and processing capacity, while positioning these products as premium global brands by 2030.

These measures form part of the government’s broader strategy to raise farmers’ incomes through productivity improvements and rural entrepreneurship.

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