'Make way not for 2nd green revolution, but for evergreen revolution,' says PM Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: On the third anniversary of his government's tenure, PM Narendra Modi announced a new Rs 6,000 crore scheme to encourage food processing and talked of doubling farmers' income by 2022 to make way not for a second green revolution, but for an "evergreen revolution".
The PM, who's spending his government's anniversary day in the northeast , in Assam, also extended his love for coining new acronyms and revising old ones. He talked today about a resurgent north-east India, where the 'NE' would no longer stand for 'North-East'.
"NE will come to mean 'New Economy, 'New Energy', 'New Empowerment' and 'New Engine'...this will further my government's for creating a 'New India' ", the PM said in an address after laying the foundation stone for an Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Assam's Dhemaji district.
"The Agriculture Research Institute in Assam is a boon for the state.... There is immense potential for organic farming in our country and especially in the Northeast," he said.
Like he's done before, Modi said that modernisation of the agriculture sector is vital. He also reiterated his government's goal of "strengthening the farmer community by doubling their incomes by 2022".
Toward this end, Modi announced 'Sampada', a new scheme to be launched by the Centre, to enable a more robust valuation of the nation's agricultural produce and to capitalise better on this produce through agro-processing.
'Sampada' stands for 'Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-processing clusters'.
"How do we value agricultural output better?" Modi asked, and presented a few examples.
"We sell our mangoes for not much money, but mango pickle sells for a lot more. Tomatoes are cheap but tomato ketchup isn't. Fruit is relatively cheap, but fruit juices are pricey. That's why we need to put a proper valuation on our agricultural produce. That's why we need Sampada," the PM explained.