Bringing Green Revolution To Eastern India (BGREI)

In order to reduce over exploitation of the natural resources in North West Region and to harness the Potential of Eastern Indian Plains for enhancing Agricultural Production, a programme namely “Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI)” under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) was announced in the Union Budget, 2010-11 with an objective to increase the productivity of rice based cropping system by intensive cultivation through promotion of recommended agriculture technologies and package of practices by addressing the underlying constraints of different agro climatic sub regions. It was implemented during the year in the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal with an allocation of Rs. 400 crores. During 2011-12 also, an amount of Rs 400.00 crore has been allocated for implementing the programme and so far an amount of Rs 396.58 crore has been released to the State Governments for carrying out the approved activities as per the action plan. Under this scheme, a bouquet of activities has been taken up that include block demonstrations of rice & wheat technologies in cluster mode approach; promoting resource conservation technology (zero tillage under wheat); creation of asset building activities for water management (shallow tube wells/dug wells/ bore wells, distribution of pump sets etc.); promotion of farm implements and need based site specific activities etc.

Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI) has been a remarkable success.  Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal have increased their contribution to rice production.  The scheme is being continued in the current fiscal (2013-14), with an allocation of Rs 1000 crore.

Key Interventions

• Developing additional water sources through tube wells, dug wells and farm ponds
• Promotion of Hybrid Rice
• Promotion of Flood, Drought, and Salinity tolerant rice varieties
• Use of Drum seeders for timely planting of direct seeded rice
• Promotion of farm implements and their easy availability for timely operation
• Liming treatment in acidic  soils
• Bringing additional area under
• Summer/Boro Rice
• Pulses and oilseeds crops through relay cropping in rice fallows intercrops

Approach

• Campaign mode of implementation creating clusters of successfully adopted villages –Periphery to core
• Convergence of schemes

1. Mechanism for synchronized actions
2. Maximizing benefits of different schemes of various departments and ministries

• Private Sector participation

1. for management of irrigation assets
2. supply chain for different crops

• Use of ICT to deliver crop advisories through Kiosks, Telephones and SMS
• Result orientation

1. Objective and constant monitoring
2. Rewards scheme

Program

• Technology promotion in compact blocks of 1000 hectares

1. Rice ecology specific technologies
2. Emphasis on line sowing/transplantation, land preparation
3. Hybrid rice promotion
4. Promotion of resource conservation technologies for wheat crop
5. Involvement of Progressive farmers

• Asset building

1. Water source development
2. Shallow tube wells
3. Borewells and dugwells
4. Water pump sets
5. Zero till seed drills

• Site specific local needs
• Priority to Non NFSM (National Food Security Mission) Districts