Budget 2026 to strengthen agriculture, reduce climate-related risks: Tea planters
The Finance Minister extended the Rs 1,000 crore PMCSPY for another year to improve welfare of tea workers, focusing on women and children in Assam and West Bengal.
Tea garden workers in Assam (Photo: AT)
Guwahati, Feb 2: The Tea Association of India on Sunday said the Union Budget 2026-27 adopts a comprehensive approach to strengthening agriculture and enhancing farmers' incomes by integrating technology, resource management, and crop diversification.
"A key initiative in the Budget is 'Bharat-VISTAAR', a multilingual AI-powered agricultural advisory platform that integrates AgriStack and ICAR agricultural practices. It aims to provide customised, region-specific advisories to farmers, improve productivity, enable data-driven decision-making, and reduce risks arising from climate variability and crop failures," secretary general of the tea planters' body PK Bhatta charjee, said.
The Association thanked the Finance Minister for extending the provision of Pradhan Mantri Cha Shramik Protsahan Yojana (PMCSPY) for one more year, which was introduced for the period of FY 2024-25 and 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs 1000 crore to provide for the welfare of tea workers, especially women and their children in Assam and West Bengal. The implementation period has now been extended further for one more year (2026-27).
The scheme is aimed at making need-based interventions in tea garden areas for strengthening provisions of education and health services to the tea workers.
The planters' body also said the Budget takes care for provision for providing social security for plantation workers in Assam. The provision covers family pension-cum-life insurance benefits for plantation workers in Assam through the Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme for tea plantation workers. These schemes are implemented by the Government of Assam for workers governed under the Assam Tea Plantation Provident Fund and Family Pension and Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Act.
The provision includes the Central government's contribution to the scheme as well as reimbursement of administrative charges, ensuring social security and financial protection for plantation workers and their families.
By
Staff Reporter