New Delhi, Sep 10 : The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) completed five years of operation on Wednesday. It was on this day in 2020 that the ambitious scheme was launched to bring a turnaround in the lives of farmers and the rural population by equipping them with alternative and modern methods of farming.

PMMSY, one of the flagship schemes of the Modi government, has achieved considerable success in five years of operation and generated lakhs of employment opportunities in the fisheries sector.

Modi Story, a popular social media handle on X, shared the success story of Bhudev Singh, a farmer from Uttarakhand's Haridwar and how his life has seen a sea-change after he made a switch from traditional farming to fish farming under the scheme.

Bhudev Singh started fish farming after the Covid era by building a pond in his village. He started the business with a subsidised loan of Rs 1.76 lakh, and within a year, he saw his income registering a steep rise ' a major shift as compared to traditional farming.

'Today, he has doubled his earnings through modern farming and fish farming, and his standard of living has also improved,' the X handle claims.

In the video shared by Modi Story, Bhudev Singh also remembers the moment when he had a direct conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and how his encouragement proved to be a source of confidence and inspiration for him.

Notably, the PMMSY was launched for focused and sustainable development of the fisheries sector in the country with an estimated investment of Rs 20,050 crore for its implementation over a period of five years. Out of the Rs 20,050 crore investment under PMMSY, an investment of about Rs 12,340 crore was proposed for beneficiary-oriented activities in Marine, Inland fisheries and Aquaculture, while Rs 7,710 crore investment was earmarked for Fisheries Infrastructure.

The PMMSY sought to enhance fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonne, increasing fisheries export earnings to Rs 1,00,000 crore, doubling of incomes of fishers and fish farmers, reducing post-harvest losses from 20-25 per cent to about 10 per cent and generating an additional 55 lakh direct and indirect gainful employment opportunities in the fisheries sector and allied activities.

/IANS