The Prime Minister Has Bet Big on Agriculture. But Can the Government Follow Through on Its Promises?
TWO YEARS AGO, on the eve of Budget 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a ‘Kisan Swabhiman’ rally in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, vowed to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. It was a time of severe rural distress, following back-to-back droughts for two years, and the previous year had seen two heavy electoral reverses for the BJP, in Bihar and in Delhi. At Bareilly, therefore, the prime minister hit the country road, declaring, “I wish to double the income of farmers by 2022 when India will celebrate 75 years of its Independence.”
The BJP government has not wave red from that path. If the two budget documents of 2016-17 and 2017-18 and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare’s Doubling of Farm Incomes (DFI) 14-volume study set the ball rolling, Budget 2018-19 is an extension of that policy thrust. Total allocation for infrastructure and livelihood development in the agriculture and rural sector has gone up from Rs 11,98,190 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 14,34,317 crore in this budget.
This story is from the February 12, 2018 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the February 12, 2018 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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