New Delhi, August 08: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, along with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, will address chief secretaries of states on Saturday to discuss measures to prop up farm production in view of the poor monsoon.
“The Prime Minister will be interacting with the chief secretaries on the drought-like situation in the country.
“Though normally the Prime Minister addresses Chief Ministers, because of the urgency of the issue, both the PM and the Agriculture Minister have decided to attend the meeting along with the Cabinet Secretary,” a source in the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Singh also wants to prepare the bureaucracy in the states to counter any emergency arising out of the monsoon situation, they added.
The Prime Minister is likely to review the status of monsoon and the sowing operation in the ongoing kharif season along with the availability of vital farm inputs like seeds, fertilisers, water and electricity.
The meeting may also feature preparing for the coming Rabi season, revision in the macro-management of agriculture schemes, the availability of farm credit, and renewed focus on Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana, under which states are incentivised for raising investment in the farm sector.
–Agencies