ON FEBRUARY 28, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to double farmers' income by 2022-23-his gift to the country in its 75th year of independence. In the six years since then, the Union government has not given the most basic figures on how much farmers earned in 2016 and how much they earn now, making it impossible to know whether the farmers' incomes have doubled.
Instead, ministers and officials have made a range of statements in the past two years on the issue. In 2021, Ramesh Chand, a member of the government's think tank NITI Aayog, admitted that the target would not be met because of the repealing of three farm laws passed by Parliament in September 2020; the laws, feared to encourage corporatisation of agriculture, had triggered nationwide protests. In contrast to Chand's statement, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar, during the 2022 Budget session of Parliament, listed the 17 schemes initiated by the Centre and said that in the absence of income data, monitoring the performance of these schemes was enough to prove that the goal of doubling farmers' income was within easy reach. "The progress made so far indicates that we are on the right track," Tomar said. Data, however, makes this assertion doubtful.
In three of the past five years, the Union agriculture ministry has spent less than what it had budgeted for centrally sponsored agriculture schemes (see 'Unable to disburse'). In 2019-20, the actual expenditure on such schemes was 29 per cent lower than the allocated amount. In 2020-21, the deficit was 18 per cent. The actual expenditure for 2017-18 was also 4 per cent lower than the budget.
This year (2022-23), the allocated budget for centrally sponsored schemes is ₹105,710 crore, which is among the lowest since 2019-20, when the Centre rolled out the PM-Kisan Yojana.
この記事は Down To Earth の July 16, 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Down To Earth の July 16, 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
