Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24. This is the first budget built in the Amrit Kaal and is built on the foundation of the pervious budget. It came up with many exclusions and inclusions as well as increase and reductions in the custom duties and tax apart from other aspects. One of this is the introduction of the new sub-scheme in the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana and the reduction in duty on shrimp feed for the benefit of shrimp farmers.
Custom Duty On Shrimp Feed Proposed To Be Reduced
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a reduction in the custom duty on shrimp feed. Every year, India produces about 9 lakh tonnes of shrimps. It accounts for the biggest contribution to India’s $7.8 billion fisheries export sector. About 99% of India’s shrimps are exported to other countries.
The sector already faced many challenges due to the pandemic and expected things to go back to normal. But instead faced different sets of troubles in the last couple of years. Looking at the records from December 2022, India’s shrimp industry was struggling amid increasing global inflation. The global shrimp price saw a fall of 20 to 25 percent. The new proposed reduction will surely bring relief to all the shrimp farmers in India.
Launch Of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana
While presenting her fifth consecutive budget, FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new sub-scheme under the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana. The FM stated that with a target investment of Rs 6,000 crore, this sub-scheme would enable activities for fishermen, fish vendors, and SME vendors while also assisting them in expanding markets.
This move by the government will surely come as a boost to all aquaculture farmers. These farmers have been facing a lot of challenges due to the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and inflation, which, apart from reducing global demand, increased the feed cost for farmers.
Aquaculture firms were interested in Wednesday’s trade after the government proposed lowering customs duties on shrimp feed to encourage exports. Avanti Feeds, Coastal Corporation, and Waterbase all saw up to 20% increases in trading.
This year’s Budget infuses new energy to India’s development trajectory. #AmritKaalBudget https://t.co/lyV2SMgvvs
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2023
Also Read: Union Budget 2023: Cigarettes Get Costlier, Custom Duty and Tax Updates You Need To Know
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