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| Amit Shah launches NAFED’s e-auction portal NAFEX.in | | |  Early Times Report
New Delhi, June 23: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah today launched the e-auction portal NAFEX.in of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) in New Delhi. Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Minister of State for Cooperation Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Chairman, NAFED Shri Jethabhai Ahir and several dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Addressing the programme, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah said that NAFED has today launched four major initiatives, namely NAFEX.in, DRISHTI, ERP and NAFED Kalyan. He said that NAFEX.in and the other initiatives are extremely important because in 2014, NAFED was on the verge of closure, but due to these efforts, NAFED is today serving more than 74 lakh farmers of the country with a turnover of Rs 30,000 crore and a profit of Rs 500 crore. Shri Shah said that when NAFED was in deep financial crisis, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji decided to run it with complete transparency. He said that the Government of India provided financial assistance and once again placed NAFED on a strong footing.
Shri Amit Shah said that today NAFED has registered a significant increase in both production and procurement. To make the country self-reliant in the pulses sector, NCCF and NAFED will have to move ahead with greater speed towards purchasing every single grain of pulses directly from farmers. This will ensure fair and remunerative prices for farmers, automatically increase the area under pulses cultivation, and make the country self-reliant in pulses.
Union Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah said that in the last three years, the necessary infrastructure for direct procurement of pulses, maize and other produce has been created. Now this infrastructure has to be taken to the grassroots level. Shri Shah said that NAFED and NCCF will have to work with full determination and transparency, only then will results be achieved. He said that it will be ensured that within the next two years, all farmers are able to sell pulses directly to these two organisations and receive payment directly into their bank accounts.
Shri Amit Shah said that today NAFED is no longer limited only to the procurement of agricultural produce. In the last three years, NAFED has done excellent work in areas such as organic farming, seed production, retail business, bio-fertilizer manufacturing, food security and international trade, which has enhanced both NAFED’s relevance and profitability. He said that when the Ministry of Cooperation was created, NAFED’s turnover was Rs 20,000 crore, which has now increased to Rs 30,000 crore. He expressed confidence that in the next two years, this turnover will cross Rs 50,000 crore. Shri Shah said that NAFED’s net profit has increased from Rs 139 crore to Rs 405 crore, and its net worth has risen from Rs 358 crore to Rs 2,050 crore. He said that NAFED has today emerged as a strong, financially capable and self-reliant organisation. The time has now come for NAFED and NCCF to procure every single grain of pulses and other crops directly from farmers with complete transparency, eliminate the entire network of middlemen, and ensure that the profits rightfully belonging to farmers reach them.
The Minister of Cooperation said that NAFED has decided to earmark 1% of its profits for scholarships for higher education and career development of children from farmer families. This arrangement will help address the difficulties faced by farmers’ children in pursuing higher education and building their careers.
At the beginning of his address, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah paid tributes to former Union Minister and founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, on his Balidan Diwas. Shri Shah said that it was on this day that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee made the supreme sacrifice to realise the principle of “One Nation, One Constitution, One Head” and to keep the country united. He said that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee is counted among the great leaders of this nation. He did nothing in his life for fame, and whatever he did had far-reaching and positive consequences for the country. Shri Shah said that at the time of India’s partition, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee fought against the British and ensured that West Bengal remained with India. It is because of this that West Bengal continues to be an integral part of India today.
The Home Minister said that after Independence, Article 370 was implemented in Kashmir, due to which Kashmir had a separate flag and a separate Constitution. Shri Shah said that this idea was extremely dangerous for the unity and integrity of India. At that time, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee launched a movement asserting that in one country there cannot be two Constitutions, two flags and two heads. For this, he marched from Delhi to Kashmir and declared that Kashmir is a part of India. He refused to take any permit to enter Kashmir, because of which Syama Prasad Mookerjee was arrested. Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee died under suspicious circumstances in a Kashmir jail. Shri Shah said that it was on the issue of Kashmir that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee resigned as Industry Minister in the then government. The Home Minister said that today Dr. Syama Prasad Ji’s dream has been realised. Article 370 has been abrogated and the government of the party founded by him is in power from Gangotri to Gangasagar in Bengal. He said that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee was a strong advocate of cultural nationalism and Indian culture. |
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