The announcement is being seen as a result of months-long farmers’ agitation demanding a guaranteed MSP for agricultural produce.
While former Maharashtra chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis praised the Union Budget as “inclusive” and aimed at making India “self-reliant”, farmer leaders in the state described it as “extremely disappointing”. “For the farmers.
Speaking to reporters in post-poll Goa, Mr Fadnavis – who is the BJP’s Goa election in-charge – said the objective of the budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is to make India. self-reliant (self-reliant) and Balashali (strong) and was designed to lead the country towards progress.
“The budget has touched all sectors. Most importantly, even after the country has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the budget has projected a growth of 9.2%,” the BJP leader said.
Emphasizing on the benefits of the budget for farmers and the agriculture sector, Mr. Fadnavis said that Ms. Sitharaman announced to set aside Rs. 2.37 lakh crore as direct payment for Minimum Support Price (MSP) to wheat and paddy farmers for the financial year 2022-23, the largest allocation the country had seen so far in the agriculture sector.
The announcement is being seen as a result of months-long farmers’ agitation demanding guaranteed MSP for agricultural produce. The agitation ended with the government repealing three of its controversial agricultural reform laws of 2020 in November last year.
Mr. Fadnavis said, “The budget also lays special emphasis on agriculture start-ups, which will eliminate middlemen and commission agents between the market and farmers.”
Farmer leaders such as Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathan (SSS) chief Raju Shetty and Dr Ajit Navale of the Left-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) hit out at the budget, saying it failed to take into account the rising cost of agricultural production. . Input
Mr Shetty claimed that the Finance Minister’s announcement of 2.37 lakh crore MSP purchases was actually less than Rs. 2.47 lakh crore MSP purchase allocation in last year’s budget.
Shetti said, “All finance ministers talk about digital revolution in agriculture, no one can do grain and viticulture on Facebook and Instagram… MSP procurement soap is not good until this But there should be no concrete law.” Hindu from New Delhi.
He further alleged that last year’s budget for agriculture sector was just 3.76% as against 4.36%.
“The Modi government had promised 60 lakh new jobs. But the two sectors – textiles and sugar – which have the maximum potential to generate employment, find no mention in the budget in this regard,” claimed Shree Shetty, a two-time former MP from Hatkanangale in western Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district.
Dr. Navale of AIKS said that the central government has not announced any new scheme to provide basic security to farmers, nor has adequate financial provision to protect the prices of perishable crops like tomatoes, onions, vegetables and fruits. Did it
“The policies of the Center have increased the cost of agricultural production, causing farmers to suffer due to the dramatic rise in the prices of petrol, diesel, electricity and fuel. Farmers had hoped that the reduction in fuel prices would bring down the cost of production, but instead, the Union Finance Minister has reiterated ‘zero-budget’ farming based on highly unscientific concepts,” he said.
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