By News On Air Dec 03, 2024
Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh has said that there is no plan to form a National Weavers Commission as the government is continuously working for the welfare of the weavers. He said the center is also providing financial support to weavers.
Replying to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha today, Mr. Singh said there are over 26 lakh weavers across the country, of which 72 percent are women. He said the government is implementing several schemes for weavers, such as the small cluster development program, handloom marketing assistance, mega cluster development program, and handloom weaver welfare.
The government has said that the fund allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA) scheme has witnessed a substantial increase during the NDA government in the last ten years.
Replying to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha today, Minister of State for Rural Development Dr. Chandra Shekhar Pemmasani said that an 87 thousand crore rupees budgetary allocation was made by the government this year for the MNREGA scheme, compared to 33 thousand crore rupees under the UPA government in 2013-14.
The Minister said that over one lakh ten thousand crore rupees were spent on the MNREGA scheme during the Covid pandemic. He added that wages have also witnessed substantial growth of 43 percent in the last five years. The Minister mentioned that the wages during the UPA government were fixed at 100 rupees per day. Rejecting the opposition MPs’ allegations, Mr. Pemmasani said that the claim of a reduction in wages was factually incorrect.
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the Minimum Support Price has been increased by nearly three times by the Centre.
Replying to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha today, Mr. Chouhan said that the NDA government has fixed the MSP by adding a 50 percent profit on the cost. He said that during the UPA government, the MSP of rice was 1,310 rupees per quintal, which has been increased to 2,300 rupees per quintal.
The Minister added that the MSP of Jowar was 1,500 rupees per quintal, which has been increased to 3,371 rupees per quintal, while that of Bajra was raised from 1,250 rupees to 2,625 rupees per quintal, and Ragi from 1,500 rupees to 4,269 rupees per quintal.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal today told the Lok Sabha that the long voyage time due to ships taking longer routes through Cape of Good Hope has impacted exports from India.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, the Minister said this has resulted in increased time for goods to reach the international markets. He said, no shortage of containers has been reported on account of the longer voyage time due to the Red Sea and Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Noting that there is limited demand for containers manufactured in the country, the Minister observed that the container manufacturing industry is dominated by economies of scale that favour established manufacturers from other countries, who benefit from lower production costs, advanced technologies and immediate cargo loading opportunities.