January 02, 2026 02:44 pm (IST)
Follow us:
PM Modi reviews drought situation at high level meeting with Andhra CM
New Delhi, May 17 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a high level meeting on the drought and water scarcity situation in parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister of N Chandrababu Naidu, was present in the meeting.
Senior officials from the Government of India, and the State of Andhra Pradesh, were also present.
An amount of Rs. 315.95 crore has been released to the State under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), after adjustments of the State balances.
This is in addition to Rs 330 crore released as central share of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for 2015-16 to the State. A further amount of Rs. 173.25 crore has been released as first instalment of SDRF for 2016-17.
The Chief Minister described the State’s efforts in building check dams, reviving lift irrigation schemes, and deploying mobile sprinkler units (rain guns) as part of the drought mitigation effort.
He mentioned the State’s progress in micro-irrigation.
"The State has a target of 20 lakh hectares for micro-irrigation by 2022. Global best practices and research in the field came up for discussion," Naidu said.
Appreciating the State’s efforts in micro-irrigation, Modi directed setting up of a task force to comprehensively study the economic impact of drip irrigation in the States of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, on various parameters such as water saving, enhanced productivity, and savings in terms of reduced input costs of fertiliser, pesticide and labour.
The Chief Minister, praising the Prime Minister for his initiatives of neem-coating of urea and the assistance of Rs. 1500 per tonne offered for compost made from municipal solid waste, stated that these will go a long way in improving soil health and checking the diversion of urea.
Naidu also made a brief presentation on how the State Government is using technology to get real-time updates on water and agriculture from the field.
Appreciating these innovations, the Prime Minister urged the NITI Aayog to set up a task force in consultation with the State that could come up with a model on how to use technology for crop insurance.
The meeting ended with a resolve on the part of the Centre and State to work together.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
‘Rs 1 lakh for his tongue’: Shah Rukh Khan faces threats after KKR signs Mushtafizur Rahman amid violence against Hindus in Bangladesh
Fri, Jan 02 2026
New Year gift for rail passengers! PM Modi to flag off first Vande Bharat sleeper in January — all details
Fri, Jan 02 2026
Germany: Indian-origin student dies after jumping from building to escape fire on New Year
Fri, Jan 02 2026
Cricketer summoned after using Palestinian flag during league match in Jammu and Kashmir
Thu, Jan 01 2026
‘Shah Rukh Khan a traitor’: BJP leader slams KKR owner over Bangladeshi player signing
Thu, Jan 01 2026
S Jaishankar meets Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, hands him PM Modi's condolence letter
Wed, Dec 31 2025
‘Vote theft is in electoral rolls, not EVMs’: Abhishek Banerjee leads TMC charge against EC over Bengal voter re-verification
Wed, Dec 31 2025