Kisan Diwas

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Why in News?

• As many as 13 farmers known for innovative farming were felicitated to mark Kisan Diwas or National Farmers Day on 23^rd December, 2022.
• The Kisan Diwas is observed across the country to celebrate the birth anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India.

What are the Key Facts about Chaudhary Charan Singh?

• He was born in 1902 at Noorpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh and was the Prime Minister of India from 28^th July 1979 to 14^th January 1980.
• Being a proponent of rural and agricultural development, he made continuous efforts for keeping agriculture at the centre of planning for India.
• He was given the nickname ‘Champion of India’s Peasants’ for his work towards upliftment of farmers and development of agriculture throughout the country.
• He took a leading part in formulation and finalisation of the Debt Redemption Bill 1939, in order to give relief to the peasantry from moneylenders.
• He was instrumental in bringing about the Land Holding Act, 1960 which was aimed at lowering the ceiling on land holdings to make it uniform throughout the Uttar Pradesh.
• He left Congress in 1967 and formed his independent party known as the Bharatiya Lok Dal.
• He served twice as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He became Prime Minister of India in 1979.
• He was the author of several books and pamphlets, including ‘Abolition of Zamindari’, ‘Co-operative Farming X-rayed’, ‘India’s Poverty and its Solution’, ‘Peasant Proprietorship or Land to the Workers’ and ‘Prevention of Division of Holdings Below a Certain Minimum’.

What are the Related Initiatives for Farmers?

• PM-KISAN: Under the scheme, the Centre transfers an amount of Rs 6,000 per year, in three equal instalments, directly into the bank accounts of all landholding farmers irrespective of the size of their land holdings.
• National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: It aims at promoting sustainable agriculture practices best suitable to the specific agro-ecology.
• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana: It has three main components namely Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), Har Khet ko Pani (HKKP), and watershed development components.
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY): It was initiated in 2007, and allowed states to choose their own agriculture and allied sector development activities as per the district/state agriculture plan.
• Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Programme: Under this programme, fertilizers are provided to the farmers at the subsidized rates based on the nutrients (N, P, K & S) contained in these fertilizers.
• Rashtriya Gokul Mission: It is being implemented for development and conservation of indigenous bovine breeds since December 2014.
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana: It provides a comprehensive insurance cover against failure of the crop thus helping in stabilising the income of the farmers.
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana: Launched in 2015, it is an elaborated component of Soil Health Management (SHM) of major project National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
• Kisan Credit Card : The scheme was introduced in 1998 for providing adequate and timely credit support from the banking system, under a single window with flexible and simplified procedure to the farmers.