The cashew sector has been grossly neglected even in the eleventh Budget presented after the Narendra Modi government came into power, Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) chairperson S. Jayamohan said in a statement here on Tuesday.
“When the Modi government assumed office, an import duty on raw cashew nut was introduced throwing the cashew sector into a crisis. The industry’s decline was almost complete when the import policy was liberalised. The current Budget also completely ignored the demand for a special package like the one launched by the State government to revive the sector,” he said. Mr. Jayamohan added that the Budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman proves that the BJP government does not intend to do anything to protect the traditional industry that employs lakhs of women. “They also also rejected the demand that the Central government should set aside at least ₹500 crore for the cashew sector,” he said.
