Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may enhance allocation for agriculture sector schemes

New Delhi: The government is likely to significantly enhance allocation for key farm sector schemes and push credit in the interim Budget to boost rural economy as growth in the agriculture sector is projected to decelerate to 1.8 per cent in 2023-24 from 4 per cent a year ago.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the interim Budget on February 1, which will be the last major economic document of the Narendra Modi-led government ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In the 2019 interim Budget ahead of the 2019 general elections, the government announced PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, under which up to Rs 6,000 financial assistance is provided to small farmers annually.