Amritsar: Farmers are the backbone of the Indian economy and custodians of food security, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday.
Puri was speaking at the "Kissan Samman Samaroh" programme here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday released the 19th installment of PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi at Bhagalpur in Bihar.
The minister joined the programme virtually from Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, along with several farmers and dignitaries, an official statement said.
Addressing farmers and other members of the Guru Nanak Dev University, Puri said farmers' welfare is the top priority of the central government led by Prime Minister Modi.
"Farmers are the backbone of our economy. They are the caretakers of our land and the custodians of our food security," he noted.
The minister said farmers have now become energy producers and the government is striving to increase ethanol blending across the country for their benefit.
"Our farmers have now become energy producers. The total ethanol blending earlier was 1.5 per cent, but now it has reached 19.6 per cent, following which the farmers have been paid more than Rs 90,000 crore," he said.
According to the statement, the minister noted that in the last three years, prices of petrol and diesel have come down.
After his address, Puri also felicitated farmers, while acknowledging their contribution to the economy.
More than Rs 22,000 crore was transferred into the bank accounts of 9.8 crore farmers across the country as the Prime Minister on Monday released the 19th installment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.
He also inaugurated several developmental projects in Bihar. Modi was accompanied by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at an event in Bhagalpur.