Following a major agitation by farmers of North Indian states which led to a meek repeal of 3 controversial Farm Laws, the government has decided to slash subsidies in a major way to perhaps teach them a lesson. The Budget Papers reveal that compared to revised estimates of last year, Fertiliser Subsidy has been slashed by 24%, Food Subsidy given for procurement of agricultural produce at Minimum Support Price (MSP) has been cut by 27.7% and Petroleum Subsidy which is used by a large number of farmers who consume diesel has been reduced by 10.8%.
Agriculture sector has logged a growth of 3.9% in India’s GDP numbers and it is the only sector which has produced consistent growth while the rest of the economy has witnessed a negative impact of the Covid19 Pandemic.While the Budget speech of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was dotted by encouraging words for the “hard working” farmers, the net outcome of her allocations could further anger the farming community which has been agitating for a better remuneration of their toils. The largest union of farmers the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) had warned that if the government does not bring in a legal framework for MSP, they may take to the streets again, now they see the MSP allocation cuts as a red rag to their agitation.
READ FULL STORY: Major Cutbacks in Farm Subsidies in Budget
Latest Videos
