Possible sops could be announced for farmers to respond agrarian crisis challenge in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a long discussion with finance minister Arun Jaitley and BJP president Amit Shah Wednesday night to work out on farm solutions.
An insider revealed the government is looking for such a solution that would be politically appealing as well as economically viable.
Currently there are four broad proposals for the government and the first is loan waiver, but something better need to be worked out. It should be better and rather more attractive than a loan waiver though it is lately seen several states have announced for it.
The second option is direct income support scheme for all land-owning farmers on a national level. As of now Telangana and Jharkhand have announced for such scheme, which is like giving free cash transfer to the farmers ahead of the sowing season.
India has two sowing cycles – Kharif and Rabi seasons.
The third option is crop insurance and the government has a proposal to offer it at a flat premium of Rs 1.
The fourth proposal for the government is to offer Rs 2,000 per acre to all farmers after the harvest so that the losses could be balanced if the crops are sold at prices lowers than minimum support.
According to former Union agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain the fourth proposal may cost the government about 2.8 lakh crore.
However, a fall in oil prices seems to be a good hope for the government in meeting such commitments.
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