Govt must allocate 13% of Budget to farm sector: BKS

By Shashi Bhushan New Delhi, Feb 6 : The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), an RSS-affiliated organisation, has urged the government to allocate a 13 per cent share of the Union Budget to the agriculture sector.
BKS national general secretary Dinesh Kulkarni told IANS that the budgetary allocation for agriculture has increased but it is still less compared to its 13 per cent share of the total GDP.
Kulkarni said that agriculture contributes 13 per cent to the Budget and so the government must allocate 13 per cent of total Budget to the agriculture sector.
“The government said that there is an increase in allocation in the Union Budget for agriculture, but instead of that the government must increase it in percentage of the total budget. The government must allocate about 13 per cent of total Budget for the agriculture sector, which is at par with its contribution to total GDP of the country,” he said.
Kulkarni suggested that the increased budgetary allocation can also be used for agricultural research and education which has almost came to standstill due to lack of funds.
“Shortage of funds has taken a toll on agricultural research and education,” he said, adding that by infusing more funds the government can put agriculture research and education back on track.