Government Schemes

Agriculture provides a livelihood and economic security for a large portion of Sikkim’s inhabitants. Biotic and abiotic variables limit growth. Over 80% of rural people depend on agriculture for economic, food, and nutritional security. Sikkim’s agriculture methods have evolved over years of farmer experimentation. Modern technology has improved farmers’ lifestyles.

Sikkim’s natural resources support organic farming. Sikkim’s organic farming regulations and programmes, together with its natural resources, aim to make it a Model Organic State. Organic farming has prompted departmental action. Agriculture and Horticulture have taken several steps.

Agriculture Schemes in Sikkim

• More than 3,500 additional Sikkimese farmers would benefit from PM Narendra Modi’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, according to a top government official.
• The second wave of COVID-19 is still being fought in India at the time of its release. As the PM noted during a virtual event, “farmers have made records in agriculture during these hard times, and the government is likewise setting new records on procurement for MSP each year.”
• PM Modi made approximately Rs 20,000 crore available to the program’s 9.5 million beneficiaries.
• On Friday, around 70,000 West Bengali farmers received their first payment as part of the program’s expansion into the state.
• Also participating via video conference was Sikkim’s chief minister Prem Singh Golay. Social media posts from him stated that this was the 8th instalment of the programme and that he hoped it would help farmers in his country, “who are our backbone.”
• More than Rs. 6 crore has already been paid to our farmers.” More than 7,000 farmers have already reaped the benefits of this programme. Rinzing Chewang, the agricultural secretary, reported that 3,500 farmers had been identified in the eighth instalment.

Sikkim Govt Loan scheme

On August 15th, 2017, the Chief Minister’s Startup Scheme (CMSS) was officially inaugurated by the Government of Sikkim with the goal of encouraging young people who are out of work, such as school dropouts, to start their own businesses and work for themselves in the state’s rural and urban districts. Startups in manufacturing and service sectors such as agriculture/horticulture/food processing/animal husbandry/handloom and handicrafts will be established. As part of the programme, initiatives with a total investment of less than Rs. 20 lakhs are eligible for a financial contribution component of 25% of the entire project cost.

• The goal of this programme is to encourage the State’s jobless and dropout youth to pursue commercially viable and bankable startup companies in a wide range of industries throughout the State, including agriculture, horticulture, food processing, animal husbandry, handlooms and handicrafts, etc.
• The goal is to provide the local youngsters a sense of self-worth and self-assurance by creating an environment that fosters their entrepreneurial endeavours and providing them with a small start-up investment.
• To take control of their own business rather than work for someone else.
• To provide a platform for the transformation of any unique idea into a financially viable business endeavour in the interest of economic upliftment.
• To increase the number of self-employment opportunities in both rural and urban areas of the state by providing one-time, non-refundable financial assistance in the form of a 25 percent promoter’s financial contribution component as margin money/a promoter’s financial contribution to a PSU bank/a PSU financial institution that is approved for funding under the schemes.

Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang kicked off the Kaushal Yuva Start up Yojana earlier that day, on September 18th, at Samman Bhawan. The state government will subsidise loans given to jobless individuals under this plan in order to help them create new work prospects. An initiative aimed at promoting entrepreneurship in rural and urban areas of Sikkim has been launched by the state government. The jobless educated youth will primarily benefit from the Kaushal Yuva Startup Yojana. The Sikkim Skilled Youth Startup Scheme would provide loans and back-ended financial subsidy help to young entrepreneurs in Sikkim who want to start a variety of businesses.

• There will be a range of 50 percent for those who are below the poverty line (BPL) and 35 percent for those who have viable/bankable state government projects. In order to make the plan work, the District Industries Centres will be utilised by the Department of Commerce and Industries (DICs).
• The primary goal of the Sikkim Skilled Youth Startup Scheme 2022 is to help young people become self-sufficient by providing them with new opportunities for employment. Directions have been given to the Nodal Department for the formation of a committee to assist and inform the scheme’s beneficiaries Dairy, poultry, piggery, and a slew of other self-employment opportunities abound in Sikkim. Now, young people can discover their entrepreneurial potential and use it to help the state’s economy grow.
• Unemployed young people in Sikkim will receive cash support from the Commerce and Industries Department of the state government. For BPL, the back-end subsidy will be 50% of the approved bankable project cost, and for the remaining applicants, it will be 35%. 
• Back-end subsidies would be released to the financial institutions that are involved in the project once it has been approved and disbursed by the Commerce & Industries Department of Sikkim.

Sikkim Garib Awas Yojana

Chief Minister P.S. Golay launched SGAY and CMGAY at Manan Kendra. Under these two projects, the State will build permanent homes for the needy and underprivileged. “SGAY is the first state programme open to urban and rural residents. SGAY will cover 3,050 homes. The Chief Minister said every poor qualified household will benefit. One beneficiary from each constituency received a token of the programme. SGAY is dedicated to building homes for the state’s poorest residents. This would help disadvantaged families by providing basic facilities. The project improves the quality of existing homes left out of CMRHM, REDRH, CMRF, etc. The plan intends to make Sikkim kutcha-free. The SGAY beneficiary must have land free of encumbrances, 30 ft x 30 ft for building, and additional land for a protective wall. The beneficiary must have a Sikkim Subject Certificate or Certificate of Identification.

• Beneficiaries’ annual incomes should not exceed Rs. 1 lakh, and no government employees should be in their immediate families.
• A single-story RCC-framed structure with a 678.50-sq-ft plinth will be built. The SGAY also provides mattresses, a wooden sofa, a table, two steel almirahs, and a TV.
• The Chief Minister said an SGAY unit costs Rs. 17.51 lakh including furnishings, GST, and labour cess.
• Every economically disadvantaged person/family should benefit. If someone doesn’t meet the conditions, the Chief Minister will take stern action.
• Similarly, CMGAY serves needy seniors. The initiative aims to provide suitable living accommodations with little support to senior citizens without direct family or support.
• This programme combines site levelling with MGNREGA and sanitation with Swachh Bharat Mission. One CMGAY unit costs Rs. 9. lakh, including furniture.
• “CMGAY is now available to qualified beneficiaries. Seniors are relieved,” stated Golay.
• The Chief Minister said the state will give pupils smart TVs for education. He’ll introduce the initiative on Children’s Day to promote digital education.
• Golay noted that the government will build a one-floor flat for urban beneficiaries under the Urban Garib Awas Yojana. He claimed this is for COI beneficiaries.
• Golay also mentioned the government’s plan to build a cancer hospital at Karfectar, Jorethang. His hospital is awaiting permission.
• The CM said mobile rural clinics will be introduced by April 2021. The vehicle will visit every village with doctors, nurses, and medicines.

Conclusion

Sikkim’s rural residents are still mostly dependent on agriculture for their primary source of income. The area that may be farmed has a finite amount of potential because of the region’s unfavourable geography and rugged terrain. Both the supply of land per capita and the decline in farmers’ employment are major factors in this problem. Sustainable agriculture is the ideal farming technique for Sikkim since it is both economically viable and environmentally friendly for the individual farmer. Farmers are being encouraged to use the most up-to-date organic farming techniques in order to ensure the long-term viability of the production and certification processes in designated areas. In accordance with our natural resources, organic farming policies and programmes aim to make Sikkim a Model Organic State. The rise of organic farming has necessitated a significant number of departmental actions. Efforts have been made to reduce the fraction of cereal grain in short supply. Crop management in organic farming, irrigation expansion, agricultural mechanisation, and value-added and post-harvest management are all aimed at enhancing crop productivity.