Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay foundation stones for a state-of-the-art wholesale fish market in the Odisha capital here and an integrated aqua park at Hirakud in Sambalpur district on October 11.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to lay the foundations for the twin projects through videoconference from New Delhi, said the state government in a statement today.

Modi will also launch a few new schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana, and address the nation through video conferencing from the national capital on the occasion.

“The Prime Minister will interact with farmers. The programme will be live telecasted in all Krishi Vigyan Kendras in the state. All the preparations for the state-level programme have reached at the final stage,” added the government.  

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s programme, Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan convened a meeting of Agriculture Ministers of all states today.

Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo attended the meeting through videoconference.

“The Centre has prepared these schemes to ensure food security in the country, provide nutritious food to the people, increase farmers' income and production. More than 50 lakh farmers and FPOs of the country will benefit from the above initiatives,” said Chouhan.

This year, a record amount of vegetables and food grains have been produced in the country as compared to the previous years, he added. However, the Union Minister has called for self-reliance in the production of pulses and oilseeds.