The UP budget proposes spending Rs. 750 billion to maintain stray cattle and promote agricultural development

On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh government recommended spending Rs 750 crore on caring for stray cattle and budgeted Rs 120 crore to build cow protection facilities. The state budget for 2023–24 also included 17,000 "Kisan Pathshalas" and money for privately owned tube wells and agricultural institutions to get subsidised power.

171 of the 187 projected cow protection centres throughout the state's districts have had their building work finished. The budget included Rs. 1,950 crore for the provision of energy to private tube wells for farmers at discounted rates, along with Rs. 631.93 crore for the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, Rs. 113.52 crore for the National Mission for Natural Farming, and Rs.

Moreover, it set aside Rs. 55.6 crore for the execution of the UP millets revival programme and Rs. 984.54 crore each for the National Agricultural Development Plan, National Crop Insurance Scheme, and Rs. 753.70 crore. The Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kisan Samriddhi Yojana, the Self-reliant Farmer Integrated Program, and the distribution of seed minikits for pulses and oil seeds each received a total of Rs 102.81 crore in the projected budget.

An allocation of Rs 20 crore has been made for the agritech startup plan in 4 agricultural institutions of the state in order to boost agricultural education and research to improve farmer income. The Mahatma Buddha Agricultural and Technological University in Kushinagar has a planned budget of Rs. 50 crore, while agricultural institutions in Kanpur, Ayodhya, Banda, and Meerut have been awarded Rs. 35 crore for infrastructural improvements.

The budget included Rs. 60 crore for dairy projects in the Meerut and Varanasi districts, Rs. 61.21 crore for the execution of the Nand Baba Milk Mission, and Rs. 86.95 crore for the plan to strengthen and revitalise the existing milk unions. A budgeted provision of Rs 25 crore has been created under the Uttar Pradesh Dairy Development and Milk Product Promotion Policy, 2022, to provide financial grants, discounts, and other amenities to the milk industry units that would be developed in the state.

Although Rs 3.44 crore has been set aside for a sheep-rearing programme in regions where sheep are the main livestock, an arrangement of Rs 116.52 crore has been made for the avoidance of animal illnesses. Provisions of Rs. 206.27 crore for the National Horticulture Mission and Rs. 257.50 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Businesses have been made under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. For the execution of the Uttar Pradesh Food Processing Industries Policy, 2022, the budget includes included Rs 100 crore.