-Hindustan Times Loan waiver provides strong disincentive for those who repaid loan on time and perverse incentive for default. But the most serious effect of the waiver is potential risk of fiscal slippage . India’s agricultural economy witnessed significant changes during the post reforms period, many of which were positive, but some were negative. Income of farmers could not keep pace with their aspirations and fast growth in the income of non-farm...

It is being said by economists that unlike the issue of low food production that gripped Indian agriculture for long in the past, the present problem is about farmers not getting remunerative prices against the crops that they are growing. According to farmer leaders, the policymakers are too late to realise that bitter truth. As a result, there is a growing disenchantment in the rural hinterland against the ruling government...

Passionate about the deepening of agrarian crisis, quite often journalists and media persons cite figures related to farm suicide (as provided by the National Crime Records Bureau) in order to draw the attention of the readers. They do so in the following ways: * Compare the absolute number of farm suicides (viz. suicide by cultivators + suicide by agricultural labourers) across regions/ states for a particular time point or time period...

-TheWire.in Farmers have been forced to sell at prices as low as Re 1 per kg, but the Modi government’s focus remains on controlling a rise in prices. New Delhi: Last week, Sanjay Sathe, an onion farmer from Nasik district in Maharashtra, made headlines. He had donated Rs 1,064 to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund – the amount he had earned after selling 750 kg of onions. It translated to less...

-Scroll.in The ministry has issued showcause notices to three of its senior officials for submitting the report before Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal could vet it. The Ministry of Agriculture has withdrawn a report that said demonetisation affected millions of farmers in the country. The ministry cited a “compilation error” to justify the withdrawal and submitted a new report that says farmers did not face any “adverse impact” as a result of the...