-The Hindu Write-offs encourage defaulters, affect credit culture, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala tells Lok Sabha. On a day when the BJP’s loss in three State elections was partly attributed to rural distress and the Congress’s promise to waive farm loans, the government told the Lok Sabha that it was not considering any loan waiver scheme as it would affect the credit culture, incentivise defaulters, create a moral hazard...

-The Indian Express Why assembly election verdicts should occasion a rethink on loan waivers, MSP raises The results of the elections to state assemblies should be a humbling experience for the BJP. Political pundits have started analysing the verdict, since the reasons for the BJP’s defeat have important implications for the parliamentary election of 2019. One factor that is being flagged by analysts is farm distress. Farmers across the country are not...

-The New Indian Express The consecutive droughts, with intermittent floods, have shown the impact that climate change can have on the lives of farmers. BENGALURU: Farmers in the state are preparing for one more round of showdown with the state government, even as Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy made a beginning to deliver on his promise of farm loan waiver by launching  the distribution of ‘Debt-free certificates.’ Though the programme has raised...

-The Indian Express Assembly election results show that deceiving farmers comes with a price Frustration on the farms has reached an inflexion point. All of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promises could actually go against him. To gauge if the farmers’ anger can become a potent political force in 2019, it is important to understand the “farmer’s identity”. Identities rarely exist in neat silos, and that is true of the farmer as...

-The Indian Express In the absence of patience and vision, the loan waiver remains the most favoured response to farm distress Thousands of farmers from different parts of India marched to Delhi on November 29-30 to register their protest against the Narendra Modi government’s perceived apathy and neglect of farmers’ demands. They were basically demanding three things: One, debate in Parliament to discuss farm distress; two, one-time loan waiver; and three,...