Washim, Oct 5 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday performed Darshan at Jagdamba Mata Temple, Poharadevi.

He paid tribute at Samadhis of Sant Sevalal Maharaj and Sant Ramrao Maharaj in Washim.

The PM inaugurated the five floor Banjara Virasat Museum, celebrating the rich heritage of the Banjara community. Poharadevi is one of the important and well-known pilgrimages of Maharashtra.

The Prime Minister arrived at the Nanded airport on Saturday morning, where he was welcomed by BJP leader Ashok Chavan. The PM is on a one-day visit to Maharashtra.

From Nanded, he flew to Poharadevi in a helicopter.

After Washim, he will travel to Thane and Mumbai to inaugurate a host of infrastructure projects.

Thereafter, at a public function he will launch several initiatives related to the agricultural and animal husbandry sector worth around Rs 23,300 crore.

In line with his commitment to empower farmers, the Prime Minister will disburse the 18th instalment of the PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi worth about Rs 20,000 crore to around 9.4 crore farmers.

With the 18th instalment release, the total funds released to farmers under PM-KISAN will be around Rs 3.45 lakh crore.

The Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation more than 7,500 projects under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), worth over Rs 1,920 crore.

The major projects include custom hiring centres, primary processing units, warehouses, sorting and grading units, cold storage projects, post-harvest management projects among others.

The Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation 9,200 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) with a combined turnover of around Rs 1,300 crore.

He will also launch the Unified Genomic Chip for cattle and indigenous sex-sorted semen technology. This initiative aims to increase availability of sex sorted semen at affordable prices to farmers and reduce the cost by around Rs 200 per dose.

Unified Genomic Chip, GAUCHIP for indigenous cattle and MAHISHCHIP for buffaloes, have been developed along with genotyping services. With the implementation of genomic selection, young high-quality bulls can be identified at an early age.

Further, he will dedicate five solar parks with a total capacity of 19 MW across Maharashtra under Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana – 2.0. During the programme, he will also honour beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana.