-TheWire.in ‘One India, One Agriculture Market’ slogan is an open declaration of the centralising objective of these reforms. The central government recently introduced major agricultural market reforms through three ordinances: The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2020, The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020. Since the inauguration of the Indian constitution on January 26, 1950,...

-The Indian Express Rather than coax the states financially to correct the markets, an unregulated marketplace has been created where 15 crore farmers will be exposed to the skulduggery of traders. Imagine the mayhem in stock markets if ROC and SEBI were similarly made redundant. Just as all ordinances aren’t reforms, all reforms aren’t the “1991 moment” for agriculture. The ordinances announced recently to facilitate trade in agricultural produce were historically resisted...

-Newsclick.in And yet, it is being tom-tommed as ‘freedom’ for farmers and ‘self-reliance’ for country! Silently, and in double quick time, changes in laws related to cultivation, sale, stocking and pricing of agricultural produce – food grain, vegetables, etc. – have been proposed and disposed by the Narendra Modi government. Three ordinances relating to these key dimensions were given Presidential assent late on June 5 night, and they came into force “at...

-ThePrint.in Modi govt reduced the import duty on masoor to less than half on 2 June. Farmers and traders allege move is to aid influential trading groups. New Delhi: Farmers and traders are disappointed with the Narendra Modi government over its decision to cut the import duty on lentils (masoor dal) to less than half even as the international prices have spiked by over 12 per cent. The agricultural stakeholders criticised the move...

-Livemint.com The ongoing reforms won’t help if they remain deprived of market access and suffer low demand Earlier this week, as part of the package for Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the Cabinet approved the proposals for agricultural marketing reforms announced in May by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The government has approved the The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, along with amendments to the Essential Commodities Act. It has also...