Union Finance Minister urges state govt to prepare action plan on organic farming

PTI, GANGTOK, FEB 27, 2023 : Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the Post-Budget interaction with the representatives of trade & industry in Sikkim such as the Sikkim Chamber of Commerce, tax professionals, corporates, various associations, women entrepreneurs etc. 

During the interaction, the representatives of the various industry stakeholders put forth their queries and suggestions pertaining to the provisions of the Union Budget and the various schemes and policies available by the Union and State Government to support their businesses. 

The queries were addressed in detail by the Minister and the various Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance. Speaking on the occasion, the Union Finance Minister lauded the state to be the first State in India to fully adopt organic farming. She urged the State Government to prepare a clear action plan on supporting organic farming in the state after consultation with all the stakeholders. 

The Minister while recollecting her rich memories of visiting a Bhutia home, urged the State Government and the industry to generate a model of matchmaking between aggregators and home stay owners to develop a Sikkim model of Village tourism. 

The Minister shall also visit the border villages in Lachen during her visit to understand the saturation of the schemes through the banking sector to the beneficiaries and the items proposed under 'Vibrant Villages' programme are being fulfilled.

The Minister and the officials addressed a press conference after the interaction. The Minister announced that "On 28th February, via videoconference, I'll be launching a ropeway from Dhapper to Bhaleydhunga in Sikkim under the PM-DevINE Scheme which came last year. 

So, you're seeing results of allocations made for CAPEX under PM-DevINE." 

Later in the evening, the Minister also interacted with the students of Sikkim University. Earlier on her arrival, she was given a warm reception at Rangpo Tourist Centre, Rangpo by MLA Sonam Tshering Venchungpa, MLAD.R Thapa, MLA Farwanti Tamang, MLA Rajkumari Thapa, MLA K.S Lepcha, MLA Y.T Lepcha, Sudip Pradhan-Independent Director, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd., Secretary Revenue, Finance Department Jeevan Subba, DC Pakyong, State Protocol Officer, S.P Pakyong, SDM Rangpo,CEO STDC along with officials from Finance Department, Tourism Department and officials from CGST and Customs,(G.O.I).

The Finance Minister was accompanied from Siliguri by B.S Panth, Tourism Minister, Tseten Dorjee, Principal Director, Accounts, Buildings and Housing Department, Kumar Bardewa, Director, Finance Department and Manoj Rai, Commissioner, Comercial Taxes Division.. (PIB and