Watch: Budget 2024: What’s in it for agriculture?

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she has allocated about ₹ 1.50 lakh crore to the agriculture sector.

Almost all major schemes for farmers have seen an increase in allocation compared to her previous budgets. However, the fertilisers subsidy is down by about ₹1 lakh crore when compared to the actual expenditure in 2022-23. To address the price rise, the Finance Ministry has also provided ₹ 10,000 crore to the price stabilisation fund. Farmers are supposed to get a benefit of this fund. In the last budget, the allocation for this fund was just ₹ 10 lakh.

The fertilisers ministry will get about ₹1.64 lakh crore in this financial year. In 2022-23, the Ministry spent about ₹2.51 lakh crore to ensure fertilisers for farmers. It has to be seen how farmers’ organisations such as the Samyukt Kisan Morcha will look into these suggestions especially when their demand for a statutory minimum support price did not find place in the this budget too.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Congress MP Jairam Ramesh after the all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of Parliament’s monsoon session, at Parliament House in New Delhi on Sunday, July 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

A day before the presentation of the Union budget, the Congress on Monday said the Centre must make three important announcements of making Minimum Support Price (MSP) a legal guarantee, fix MSP on the basis of the Swaminathan formula and establish a permanent commission to monitor the implementation of farm loan waivers.

Congress general secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said that of all the “failures” of the central government, the “incompetence and ill-will” of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare is the most damaging.

“While the UPA had raised the MSP of wheat by 119% and that of rice by 134%, the Modi government has raised it by 47% and 50% respectively. This is not at all enough to keep up with inflation and the rising prices of agricultural inputs,” Mr. Ramesh said in a statement.

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He pointed out that farmers’ debt has increased tremendously.

According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), outstanding loans have increased by 58 per cent since 2013, he said.

“More than half of the farmers are debt-ridden. Since 2014, we have seen more than 1 lakh farmers die by suicide,” Ramesh said.

“The Central Government needs to make three key announcements for farm welfare in the upcoming Budget: Raise MSP for 22 crops that come under MSP, in line with the C2+50% formula as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission,” he said.

Mr. Ramesh said the government must give a legal status to MSP and establish a system to implement it firmly, including strategic procurement, better regulation and price differential compensation.

“All it takes is determination and courage,” he said.

Farm loan waivers

Mr. Ramesh also called for the establishment of a permanent commission to assess the need for, assess the magnitude of, and monitor the implementation of farm loan waivers.

This much-needed step will provide relief to debt-ridden farmers, he said in his statement in Hindi.

“Remember that the central government has all the power to take all three of these steps. It is just waiting for the self-proclaimed non-biological Prime Minister to show some courage and give up his stubbornness and take a decision in the interest of farmers,” Ramesh said.

“In November 2021, after the withdrawal of the three black farm laws, the self-proclaimed non-biological Prime Minister had announced the formation of a committee to review matters related to MSP. It took the government eight months to form the committee – and two years later, it has still not released an interim report,” he said, attacking PM Narendra Modi.

Had the government wanted, the report would have been released by now and MSP would have gotten legal status, he argued.

The Congress government in Telangana has started waiving farm loans for farmers in the State, he said.

“This will provide relief to a total of 40 lakh farmers on loans up to Rs 2 lakh. In 2008, the UPA led by Dr. Manmohan Singh had waived off farm loans worth Rs 72,000 crore. This benefited a large number of farmers, including 54 lakh farmers of UP, 42 lakh farmers of Maharashtra, 8.9 lakh farmers of Haryana, 17.6 lakh farmers of Bihar and 6.66 lakh farmers of Jharkhand,” Ramesh said.

“The government of the non-biological Prime Minister has waived off bank loans of Rs 16 lakh crore of capitalists. But on the other hand, despite receiving a record ₹2.11 lakh crore dividend from the RBI this year, it has not waived off even a single rupee of agricultural loan of the farmers,” he alleged.

“Will the self-proclaimed non-biological prime minister, who is still recovering from the wounds of the decisive personal, political and moral defeat on June 4, take these important steps for agricultural welfare?” Ramesh said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.

In a major decision, the Union Cabinet has approved a minimum support price of at least cost plus 50% for 14 crops ahead of the Kharif (summer) sowing season. The minimum support price of paddy has been increased by Rs 117, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a Cabinet briefing on Wednesday.  

A legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) has been a long-standing demand of farmers who have staged large-scale protests, including some held earlier this year, to press for it. The MSP decision is also significant because it comes ahead of Assembly polls in states like Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, which are scheduled to be held later this year. 

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always given preference to farmers. The first decision in the third term was taken for farmers. In today’s Cabinet meeting also, a very important decision was taken for the welfare of farmers. The Kharif season is beginning and the Cabinet has approved a minimum support price of 14 crops for the season,” Mr Vaishnaw said. 

“In the 2018 Union Budget, the government of India had taken a clear policy decision that the MSP has to be at least 1.5 times the cost of production. Today’s decision is in line with this principle. The cost has been established in a scientific manner and is based on a study by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices in various districts and tehsils across the country,” he added. 

The MSP for paddy for the season has been increased by 5.35%, or Rs 117, to Rs 2,300 per quintal and, as a comparison, the minister said the price was 1,310 in 2013-14. 

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today unveiled AAP’s ’10 guarantees’ if his party wins the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Mr Kejriwal’s assurances encompass a broad spectrum of public welfare initiatives, including pledges for free electricity and improved healthcare.

“BJP has always failed on its promises; my guarantees have proven track record,” Mr Kejriwal said. “People have to take a call whether to go for ‘Kejriwal ki Guarantee’ or ‘Modi Guarantee.”

At the forefront of Mr Kejriwal’s electoral promises is the assurance of free electricity for all, particularly targeting the economically backward sections of society. The AAP chief advocated for replicating Delhi’s model of uninterrupted power supply nationwide. 

“Out of the 10 guarantees, the first guarantee is that we will provide 24-hour electricity in the country. The country has the capacity to generate 3 lakh MW of electricity but the usage is only 2 lakh MW. Our country can produce more electricity than the demand. We have done it in Delhi and Punjab, we will do it in the country also. We will provide up to 200 units of free electricity to all the poor. It will cost Rs 1.25 lakh crore, we can arrange it,” Mr Kejriwal said. 

Second on Mr Kejriwal’s poll guarantees list is revamping education in government schools. The Delhi Chief Minister claimed that Rs 5 lakh crore will be required to remedy that and that state governments and the Centre should pay Rs 2.5 lakh crore each to make up for the total cost. 

“Today, the condition of our government schools is not good. Our second guarantee is that we will arrange good and excellent free education for everyone. Government schools will provide a better education than private schools. We have done it in Delhi and Punjab. Rs 5 lakh crore will be required for this. State governments will give Rs 2.5 lakh crore and central government will give Rs 2.5 crore for this,” he said. 

The AAP national convener also put a Rs 5 lakh crore price tag to overhaul government hospitals and improve India’s healthcare infrastructure. 

“The condition of our government hospital is not good in our country. Our third guarantee is better healthcare. We will arrange good treatment for everyone. Mohalla clinics will be opened in every village, every locality. District hospital will be converted into a Multispeciality Hospital. Every person born in this country will get free treatment. Treatment will not be done on the basis of insurance as this is a big scam. We will create infrastructure. Rs 5 lakh crore rupees will be spent on healthcare,” Mr Kejriwal said. 

Other guarantees on the list, according to Mr Kejriwal, are “freeing” Indian land from Chinese control, shutting down the Agniveer scheme, providing farmers MSP as per the Swaminathan Commission report and a full statehood to Delhi. 

“Our fourth guarantee is ‘Nation first’. China has occupied our land but our central govt is denying it…There is a lot of strength in our army. All the land of the country which has been occupied by China will be freed. For this, efforts will be made at the diplomatic level on one side and the Army will be given complete freedom to take whatever steps it wants to take regarding this. A scheme like Agniveer is harmful for the army and the youth are also troubled by it. The Agniveer scheme will be withdrawn,” Mr Kejriwal said. 

Mr Kejriwal, who was arrested by the probe agency Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case, was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on Friday.

Chandigarh:

The farmers on Sunday protested against BJP candidate Dinesh Babbu in Batala and party leader Arvind Khanna in Barnala in Punjab as the party leaders continued to face their wrath over their unmet demands.

The BJP candidates and leaders have been facing protests from the farmers who have shown them black flags when they were campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.

Party candidates Hans Raj Hans from Faridkot seat, Taranjit Singh Sandhu from Amritsar and Preneet Kaur from Patiala have already witnessed the anger of the farmers.

In Fatehgarh Churian in Batala, a group of farmers on Sunday raised slogans against Mr Babbu, who is the BJP nominee from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat.

Police even tried to stop the protesters from heading towards the venue where Mr Babbu and the BJP supporters were holding an election related programme.

One of the protesters at Fatehgarh Churian said they will continue to oppose the BJP leaders.

Reacting to the protest, BJP candidate Babbu said it was only his party which can resolve their issues while the other political outfits will “use” them for their vested interests.

“We are with the farmers and I am also a farmer. Their issues can be resolved through dialogue,” said Mr Babbu.

In another incident, BJP leader Arvind Khanna faced the farmers’ protest in Barnala where he had gone to campaign.

A heavy police force was deployed and barricades were raised.

One of the woman protesters slammed the BJP government for not allowing the farmers to go towards Delhi and using “force” against them.

Another protester said they came to hold the protest against Mr Khanna in a peaceful manner but the police personnel did not allow them to move towards the venue.

Mr Khanna, however, alleged that it was not farmer outfits but the workers of the AAP who were “orchestrating” such protests.

“The farmers are either in their fields (for wheat harvesting) or mandis (for selling wheat). These outfits are the people of (chief minister) Bhagwant Mann and these are not farmers,” alleged Mr Khanna, adding that the Modi government stands by the farmers.

Meanwhile, BJP candidate from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who has also been facing farmers’ ire, said he belongs to a farming family.

He said he emphasised on increasing the income of the farmers. “I am campaigning and I will continue to do so,” he said.

The farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) have already said they will oppose the BJP and will ask the people to “punish” the saffron party in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The farmers owing allegiance to various farm outfits are upset with the BJP-led Centre for not accepting their demands, including a law on minimum support price.

They were also angry over not being allowed to head towards Delhi, forcing them to camp at Shambhu and Khanauri border points of Punjab and Haryana.

The SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) are spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by the farmers to press the government to accept their demands which include that the Centre should give a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the crops.

The farmers have been staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 when their march was stopped by the security forces.

The polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held in the last phase on June 1. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Amid the heat of the ongoing Lok Sabha electioneering, the Centre has announced plans to significantly increase wheat purchase from non-traditional States of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar and set a target of seven-fold jump in procurement to 50 lakh tonnes in the ongoing 2024-25 marketing year.

Further, even as the ban on outbound shipments of wheat continues, “it will be a dream for us to export now”, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra told reporters on April 4.

“U.P., Bihar, and Rajasthan have been contributing much less than they could have. We are targeting total wheat procurement of 310 lakh tonne this year. Of which, we are hoping to procure at least 50 lakh tonne from three non-traditional procurement States alone,” he said.

While Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar put together contributed only 6.7 lakh tonnes to the Central pool during the 2023-24 marketing year (April-March), the Union Food Ministry has decided to procure 16% of the total wheat procurement target of 310 lakh tonne set for 2024-25. Wheat procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP) is normally undertaken by the Centre’s nodal agency Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State agencies. However, cooperatives Nafed and NCCF have also been roped in with a procurement target of five lakh each this year.

Wheat MSP has been fixed at ₹2,275 per quintal for the current year. Since October, the Centre has been working with these three States to increase the procurement level. “Various steps have been taken to address the gaps and it should help boost procurement levels in three States,” he said.

Asserting that 2024 general elections is unlikely to affect wheat procurement operations, the Secretary said the increase in wheat procurement from non-traditional States will help restore allocation of wheat under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and other welfare schemes.

“The allocation of wheat has been reduced to 184 lakh tonnes annually from the previous 230-240 lakh tonnes under various welfare schemes in view of lower procurement in the last two years,” he added.

Mr. Chopra also said the Centre has not directed traders to avoid buying wheat from farmers till the government completes procurement. “No such instruction has been given to traders,” he added.

Highlighting steps taken to strengthen wheat procurement in non-traditional States, the Secretary said the procurement window has been advanced/extended to March instead of April 1, set up a dedicated farmer helpline to address procurement-related queries, intensified media publicity of MSP rate, and drying facilities have been provided for early harvested crop.

Besides, the government has advanced farmer registration from January 1 instead of March 1, simplified farmers’ land record verification, including tenant farmers, given flexible procurement targets to agencies.

More importantly, the Secretary said the government has decided to ensure transfer of MSP to bank accounts of farmers within 48 hours, streamlined procurement incidental burden for farmers, smoothened banking-related issues such as Aadhaar integration with bank accounts.

“The government has also opened more procurement centres targeting production hotspots, set up mobile procurement centres, decide to leverage Self Help Groups, Panchayats, Farmer Producer Organisations,” he said.

“That apart, the government has ensured institutional preparedness through working capital to agencies to ensure payment of MSP to farmers within 48 hours,” he added.

The Secretary further mentioned that a Central control room has been set up in the FCI headquarters in Delhi for real-time monitoring of procurement ad coordination among various agencies.

According to the Food Ministry, six lakh tonnes of wheat have already been procured so far this year from six States — Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar. The procurement from traditional States of Punjab and Haryana will begin soon.

On prices of wheat and rice, the Secretary said wheat flour and wheat prices are stable at present after introduction of retail sale of wheat flour at ‘Bharat’ brand. About 7.06 lakh tonne of wheat flour has been sold till now.

“Even retail inflation of rice remained stable at 13% and 14% for the last two months. About 3.1 lakh tonne of FCI rice has been sold under Bharat brand since February,” he added.

Asked if the government will revisit the wheat export ban amid estimates of higher production, the Secretary said, “It’s a dream for us to export now.” The government has banned wheat exports since May 2022 to boost domestic availability and check prices.

The wheat production is estimated to be a record 112 million tonne during 2023-24, compared to last year’s 110 million tonnes as per the Agriculture Ministry.