-The Hindu Report says it’s consumers who benefit from them more than farmers Despite the general perception that Indian farmers are beneficiaries of major subsidies, a new report says the overall effect of policy interventions between 2014 and 2016 is, in fact, a 6% annual reduction of gross farm revenues. Consumers, on the other hand, pay an average 25% less for commodities as a result of policy interventions. According to researchers at the...

-The Hindu Business Line Direct bank transfers plug leakages in food distribution, ensure better nutritional security New Delhi: Irrespective of teething problems encountered in places where it was launched as pilot, direct cash transfers are far more effective than food subsidy in reducing food insecurity and nutritional imbalances among the Indian population, a new report has shown. Currently, India spends ?1,45,400 crore — about 1.3 per cent of its GDP — to give...

-Newsclick.in Govt. buys only about one third of the total rice and wheat produced and MSP is paid for that only. The recent announcement of Minimum Support Prices for 14 kharif crops including paddy and many coarse grains has been met with a frenzy of self-congratulation by the Modi govt. and the BJP, egged on by an embarrassingly sycophantic mainstream media. Many have however pointed out that the declared MSP is...

-Livemint.com The best way to double the real incomes of Indian farmers would be to halve their numbers through job creation in other parts of the economy The Narendra Modi government last week announced sharp increases in minimum support prices (MSPs) for a variety of farm products. The move itself is not unexpected. The first sign that the Modi government would shift away from its earlier strategy of minimal hikes to douse...

-The Hindu The Union government looks to fulfil its poll promise of giving farmers 50 per cent more rate than their cost of production. In keeping with the promise made in this year’s Budget speech, the Union Cabinet has approved a hike in minimum support prices (MSPs) for kharif crops so that they are 50% higher than the cost of production, not including land costs. This includes a ?200 per quintal increase in...