Emphasizing ‘Agriculture as the first engine’ for India’s development journey, Union Budget 2025–26 tabled in Parliament recently by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, announced a slew of measures to spur agricultural growth and productivity, thereby benefitting the Annadata. Announcing the Government’s decision to establish a Makhana Board in Bihar, Smt. Sitharaman said it will improve production, processing, value addition, and marketing of makhana as well as support the people engaged in these activities to be organized into Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). The Minister stated that a National Mission on High Yielding Seeds will be launched with an aim to strengthen the research ecosystem, targeted development and propagation of seeds with high yield. Source: https://pib.gov.in/