India, Feb. 23 -- The Odisha state cabinet on Thursday extended the cash assistance scheme, Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) for farmers to overcome distress, by three more years with a proposed expenditure of Rs.6,029 crore.

The state cabinet announced that the scheme exclusively meant for small and marginal farmers as well as sharecroppers will be operational till 2026-27.

The Kalia scheme was announced in December 2018 by Naveen Patnaik government.

Since December 2018, the state has spent Rs.12,500 crore on 6.28 million farmers including 4.38 million small and marginal farmers and 1.89 million landless farmers so that they can purchase quality farm inputs like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.

Thou...