-The Tribune Demonetisation didn’t overly impact the sector, but devitalisation is a concern THERE has been a lot of speculation about the extent of damage due to demonetisation on agriculture. Small farmers suffered most because cash in hand means a lot to them. They were unable to pay for inputs like fertilisers, seeds and farm labour and experienced low demand for their perishable produce. The latest data from government’s agricultural ministry however...
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Panel on doubling farmers' income mulls major reforms
-PTI The inter-ministerial panel is looking at suggesting market reforms in a big way and increasing focus on sub-sectors of agriculture like animal husbandry, poultry and fisheries Hyderabad: A committee formed by the Centre to double farmers’ income by 2022 is considering major reforms in agriculture sector, like adopting a profit-centric approach and to aim at increased productivity and reduced cost of cultivation. The inter-ministerial panel, constituted in April last year, is also...
More »Reading between the lines: Forget the rhetoric, this is no Budget for India's poor -Harsh Mander
-Scroll.in India's social-sector spending remains woefully low and despite claims of being a pro-farmer Budget, the effective allocations are nearly the same as last year. Some commentators expected that the Union Budget 2017-’18 would craft a sharp departure from earlier budgets of this government. This it would do to mitigate the immense suffering of millions of casual workers, farmers and small traders caused by the “shock and awe” of the astoundingly callous...
More »Welcome push to rural India's aspirations -Harsh Kumar Bhanwala
-The Hindu Business Line Bringing digital banking to Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies is an important and laudable aspect of the Budget The Budget hides months of discussion, with stakeholders nursing a gamut of interests. This year was no exception and the Budget was an exercise in the accommodation of innumerable expectations; and it is bound to dissatisfy many. I would like to apply the old economic litmus test to judge its efficacy: Is...
More »Before Universal Basic Income, We Must First Get Social Spending Basics Right -Anjana Thampi and Ishan Anand
-TheWire.in The Economic Survey 2016-17 devotes a chapter to the provision of a Universal Basic Income (UBI), describing it as a “raging new idea,” a “radical new vision” and “the shortest path to eliminating poverty”. While warning that the UBI “should not become the Trojan horse that usurps the fiscal space for a well-functioning state,” the survey says a de facto UBI can be instituted in the existing “fiscal space”. It...
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