In a bid to protect soil in the country and conserve it in beneficial manner for the people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to launch a two-week mega event which will kick off from World Soil Day on December 5 this year. The main agenda of this programme is to spread awareness among the people of the nation, mostly farmers, for the balanced use of fertilisers in Indian soil. The Modi-led Government is also expecting to generate huge investment through corporates and stakeholders for this initiative.
“It has been decided to organise a two-week event, starting from World Soil Day on December 5, 2015, to spread awareness among farmers about balanced use of fertilisers, soil health card, waste to compost etc. The event would be organised at all-India level and up to district level as well,” a highly-placed Government sources told The Pioneer on Thursday.
The Government has shortlisted the stakeholders for the proposed mega event. “Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Rural Development, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Department of Fertilisers are among the key stakeholders for the proposed programme. Besides, Fertiliser companies, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Agricultural Universities (both central and States) will be part of them,” the sources said.
When asked about the funds required for this social awareness movement of the Government, the source did not divulge it in detail, but said, “Many stakeholders have agreed to rope in this initiative and they are in talks with the Government to make it a success globally. It is expected that all big corporate giants from India and abroad will participate in the event and pledge billions of dollar investment for the programme.”
Every year on December 5, the day is celebrated as World Soil Day. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN will also observe 2015 as the International Year of Soils. Keeping in line with FAO, the Government of India is also planning to organise it in a bigger way not only to spread awareness among Indians but also to make it a remarkably global event.
This mega event would be celebrated at a bigger scale than the Government ever had in the past. It is expected that it would be much bigger than the events like Swachchh Bharat Abhiyaan, Digital India, and World Yoga Day. “As the Government’s efforts on such missions recently saw a huge success throughout India, we expect yet another initiative like this will create more awareness to each and every citizen of the country,” said the sources.