-The Indian Express Government’s claim that it has given support prices that are 50 per cent over input costs to farmers is a sleight of hand. Tall talk could increase farmer resentment The finance minister (FM) has made a smart move by announcing in the Union budget speech that the government has already fulfilled its election promise of giving minimum support prices (MSPs) of at least 50 per cent higher than their...
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Agriculture: Budget promises MSP 50% above cost, doesn't define which cost -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express Whether it is the Budget, the Swaminathan formula or the BJP manifesto, none of them has quite defined what really constitutes “cost of production”. And therein lies the nub. The Union Budget for 2018-19 has promised to fix minimum support prices (MSP) for crops to guarantee farmers at least 50 per cent returns on production costs. This is quite similar to the original recommendation of the M S Swaminathan-headed...
More »Where's the money, Mr Jaitley? -Jayati Ghosh
-The Indian Express There are grand promises. But the actual increases in budgetary outlays are shockingly low. This government is especially good at optics, at managing public perceptions to persuade people that it is working for them, rather than doing so. So it is no surprise that Arun Jaitley’s pre-election budget speech went on about how much his government cares for the people, the poor, for farmers, for women, for people...
More »Union Budget 2018: A Step Forward -Ajay Vir Jakhar
-The Indian Express Únion Budget 2018: Budget addresses the crises in agriculture. The devil is in the allocations All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”. In Anna Karenina, only if a person is satisfied on all counts will she be happy. The allocations in the budget cover every sector, with umpteen implications, and no person’s expectations can be fulfilled on all counts. While every...
More »CSDS Mood of the Nation Survey, 2018: Crop prices biggest concern for farmers -Sanjay Kumar and others
-The Indian Express One in every four farmer respondents across all regions of the country said low prices of crops was their most pressing problem. The current crisis in India’s farm sector is perhaps the worst in the last 15-odd years. The Lokniti-CSDS survey (Part 1 was published on Wednesday) has a separate section on farmers’ issues, intended to throw light on their concerns and problems. One in every four farmer respondents across...
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