-The Indian Express There is an ambiguous provision to levy income tax on “dairying”. Either the provision should be removed or it should be clarified that it does not include dairy farmers. Dairying is a part of agriculture and as per the Constitution, it is a state subject. Those in power may not yet be accepting blame for the barrage of negative news on the state of the economy, but cracks are...

-Financial Express Budget 2020: The direct budgetary aid would be in the form of a grant equivalent to the equity capital of each FPO. Budget 2020: The government will likely announce a five-year scheme in the upcoming Budget, entailing a total support —both budgetary and indirect —of Rs 7,000-10,000 crore to honour its pledge of creating 10,000 farmer producers’ organisations (FPOs) and help boost their agricultural income. The direct budgetary aid would be...

-Business Standard Natural farming is an alternative to chemical fertiliser-based and high input cost agriculture After decades of intensive agriculture, farms and farmers are in a crisis, food markets remain distorted, and consumers do not have access to nutritious diets. India needs a shift towards sustainable food systems. Among many alternative farming techniques is natural farming, with the potential to improve sustainability and also meliorate government finances. Natural farming is an alternative to...

-Hindustan Times India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.5% in the second quarter of the current financial year, the lowest since March 2013. Union Budget 2020-21 is expected to focus on the transformation of rural India with a nearly 15% jump in fund allocation to boost the village economy and raise incomes, particularly of small and marginal farmers, three people aware of the development said on Tuesday. “Transformation of the rural economy is...

-The Indian Express All such investments will go a long way to augment farmers’ incomes in a sustainable manner. Else, I am afraid, much of the talk in the Union budget for agri-reforms will remain mere rhetoric. Although the Union budget is basically an accounting exercise of revenues and expenditures for the coming year, economy-watchers anxiously wait for the finance minister to announce major economic reforms. In that sense, the budget of...