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Tackling Ghost Beneficiaries: Maharashtra Saved Rs 12,000 Crore In Farm Loan Waiver Due To Digitisation, Says CM
Swarajya Staff
Jan 14, 2019, 11:39 AM | Updated 11:38 AM IST
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Maharastra’s chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis has stated that the state has saved Rs 12,000 crore by removing ghost beneficiaries through a digital platform, reports Press Trust of India (PTI).
“Our farm loan waiver scheme was executed on a digital platform and by that we could save Rs 12,000 crore just because of digital intervention. Had it been the regular way, we would have ended up paying Rs 12,000 crore more to the people and that is the power of digitisation,” said the CM on Sunday on the sidelines of an event organised of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Mumbai.
Mr Fadnavis added that his government was trying to make agriculture more ‘precision-oriented’ by connecting farmers directly with technology which help make farming more predictable.
The chief minister also spoke on the progress made by Maharashtra in bringing digital connectivity to its villages and towns. "As part of Bharat Net, we have started our Maha Net, which has already reached out to 60 per cent of our targeted villages and by the end of this year, we will be reaching rest of the villages. Hopefully, our fibre will reach every single village. And with this robust connectivity, we will empower every single citizen to leverage on digital governance and the digital economy,” he noted.
Connecting Bharat
BharatNet is the world’s largest rural broadband project which aims to connect all the 2,50,000 gram panchayats (GPs) in the country and provide 100 Mbps connectivity to citizens residing in such GPs.
The NDA government, led by PM Modi, completed the Phase-1 of the project by connecting over one lakh Gram Panchayats (GP) across the country with high-speed optical fibre network as per the declared deadline of 31 Dec 2017. Phase-II is underway.
Also Read: Ten Things That Are Wrong With Indian Agriculture
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