The Gujarat government has decided to provide financial assistance of up to Rs 1500 to farmers in the state for the purchase of a smartphone, according to a notification issued by the state agriculture department. The Union government, led by Gujarat-born Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently repealed the contentious farm laws that sparked widespread protests.

The Scheme: According to the statement, the scheme is intended to encourage farmers to purchase smartphones that can be used for a variety of purposes to increase farm income, at a time when the prevalence of digital services in agriculture is increasing by the day.

According to a Government Resolution (GR) issued on Saturday by the state’s Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Cooperation Department, any landholding farmer in Gujarat can apply for assistance of 10% of the total cost of a smartphone not exceeding Rs 1,500 on the i-khedut Portal to take advantage of this scheme.It was stated that the assistance is only valid for the cost of the smartphone and not for any other accessories such as headphones.

“The smartphone will make it simple for a farmer to access information such as weather forecasts, potential pest infestations, various agriculture department schemes, modern farm techniques, expert opinion, and others,” according to the report.

“Farmers can also use the smartphone to apply online for various state government schemes meant for them by using smartphone facilities such as camera, emails, texts, and multimedia services, GPS, web browser, internet connectivity, and so on,” the GR said.