The Central Government has announced more subsidies on seeds of different yields to Rs 288 crore to fight with drought situation.

Talking to media, after the first meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on drought, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, “We have decided to distribute good quality seeds in time to farmers and have stepped up subsidy to the extent of Rs 288 crore so that farmers get subsidy directly, which will get reflected in the pricing of seeds.”

He hoped that the kharif losses would be made up to some extent, especially now that rainfall had improved.

The Central Government has over 1.5 million tonnes of surplus seeds.

The Finance Minister also said that rainfall shortage had reduced to 26% from 36%-37%. He added that the recent rain has improved the condition to some amount, though there still is deficiency.

Earlier, the government also announced 246 districts of the country as a drought-hit.

Apart from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, other members of EGoM include Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, Rural Development Minister C P Joshi, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.