Narendra Singh Tomar takes charge of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare;Parshottam Rupala and  Kailash Choudhary also take charge

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar today officially took charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare.nnParshottam Rupala and Kailash Choudhary also took charge as Ministers of State in the Ministry. All senior officials of the Ministry welcomed the Union Minister and the Ministers of State.nnAddressing the media after taking charge Union Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar lauded the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his dynamic leadership and his concern for farmers.nnHe said acting on poll promises the Modi government in its first cabinet meeting approved extension of the PM-Kisan income support scheme to all farmers, removing the ceiling of two hectares, and also cleared a pension scheme for agriculturists. A new initiative was also taken to control animal diseases to support livestock rearing farmers.nnThe Minister said that the path breaking pension scheme will provide pension cover to farmers who toil day and night to keep our nation fed. It is also for the first time since independence that such a pension coverage has been envisioned for farmers. It is estimated that 5 crore small and marginal farmers will benefit in the first three years itself. On PM-Kisan he said that the revised Scheme is expected to cover around 2 crore more farmers, increasing the coverage of PM-Kisan to around 14.5 crore beneficiaries.nnAddressing the officials of the Ministry after taking charge Tomar stated that numerous measures are being taken to empower the hardworking farmer.nnHe urged the Agriculture Ministry officials to make a lasting contribution in their respective fields for the growth of agricultural production and welfare of farmers.