India’s government has prioritized the fisheries sector in its 2020 annual budget, setting a lofty target for fisheries production at 20 million metric tons (MT) by 2022-2023, News 18 reported 1 February.
That would represent an increase of 50 percent from 13.34 million MT in 2018-2019.
The sector provides employment for about 14 million people in India.
The government expects to raise fisheries exports to INR 1 trillion (USD 14 billion, EUR 12.6 billion) by 2024-2025, according to Business Today.
The government will also invest in mariculture, including algae and seaweed farming, and it will make a push to bring more young workers in the fisheries sector.
Additionally, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed the adoption of a new scheme developed by the country’s Department of Fisheries to better manage the fisheries framework in the country. Sitharaman’s proposal will seek to improve the quality and quantity of fish processing in the country. The plan will be managed by the new Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries and has received an allocation of INR 37 billion (USD 517.3 million, EUR 467.3 million).
The union budget allocation for the fisheries sector in 2018-2019 financial year was INR 100 billion (USD 1.4 billion, EUR 1.26 billion).
India’s fish production rose nearly 6 percent to 13.34 million MT in 2018-2019, up from 12.59 million MT in 2017-2018, according to a letter sent by Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying Pratap Chandra Sarangi to Shobha Karandlaje, a Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha – the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament.
The country’s total fisheries production has been steadily increasing over the last few years. It was 11.43 million MT in 2016-2017, and 10.26 million MT in 2014-2015, The Hindu BusinessLine reported.
Andhra Pradesh was the top state in fish production, with 3.99 million MT in 2018-2019 – up 16 percent from 3.44 million MT in 2017-2018. It was followed by West Bengal, with 1.77 million MT, up 1.7 percent from 1.74 million MT in 2017-2018.
Photo courtesy of CRS Photo/Shutterstock
