<thread> Today’s presser of the FM was on agriculture. Farmers are struggling due to no markets & lower prices. They expected a cash handout (increase of payment or front-loading 2nd installment of PM-Kisan) or higher MSP or a debt relief. But the FM had other plans! 1/n […]
FM first spoke of a Rs 1 lakh crore financing facility for funding aggregators & FPOs to improve farm-gate infrastructure. This is most likely a loan-based scheme through banks. We already have “Operation Greens” for this in TOP crops. No budget outgo likely. Details awaited. 2/n
FM then set aside Rs 10,000 crore for micro food enterprise clusters. This again is already represented under multiple schemes/heads in the budget. Allocation may slightly rise after today. Still, a major part of this is likely to be loans. Small, but welcome. 3/n […]
Then the FM said her govt “will launch” the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore. But PMMSY is an existing scheme from the 2019-20 budget, with an investment of Rs 20,500 crore for fisheries activities and infrastructure under Blue Revolution. 4/n
The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) had approved PMMSY scheme on 21-01-2020 with central share at Rs 9407 crore; State share at Rs 4880 crore; and beneficiary share at Rs 5763 crore to be implemented in 5 years. Yet, no budgetary outlay was given to PMMSY in 2020-21. 5/n […]
The PMMSY scheme, already approved by EFC in Jan 2020, was re-announced today. It has nothing to do with Covid-19 related distress in the fisheries sector. Amount is almost exactly the same: Rs 20,000 crore. Period: 5 yrs. Note, the central share will only be Rs 9407 crore. 6/n
FM then spoke of the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) with an outlay of Rs 13,343 crore. Again, this is an existing scheme from 2019-20 with an outlay of Rs 12,652 crore for 5 years till 2024, launched by the PM in 2019: see bit.ly/362nJHl. 7/n […]
Today’s announcement repeated the NADCP scheme as if it was new, but gave almost the exact outlay amount prescribed in 2019. The objectives too are the same: vaccinating 100% (or 53 crore) cattle, buffaloes, sheeps, goats and pigs against FMD and Brucellosis. 8/n […]
Then FM said she will “set up” an Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) with Rs 15,000 crore outlay to support private investment in dairy & cattle feed. AHIDF is, again, an existing scheme from 2019-20 with nothing remaining to be “set up” afresh. 9/n
In 2018-19, Rs 10,000 crore was allocated to fisheries and animal husbandry infrastructure development funds, as a CSS. State governments, cooperatives and individuals were to get loans at cheap rates for infra investment. This same scheme was re-announced today. 10/n […]
The AHIDF has, in all probability, received no new allocation on an annual basis with today’s announcement; the outlay of Rs 15,000 crore is surely not for 1 year but over at least 3-5 years; it is an existing loan-based scheme implemented through the banking system. 11/n […]
Promotion of herbal & medicinal plans with an outlay of Rs 4000 crore over 2 years: this is also an existing scheme of AYUSH ministry to promote large-scale farming of medicinal plants through subsidies to farmers. See bit.ly/2Arjj0Z. Nothing new to trumpet. 12/n […]
Rs 500 crore was then announced for beekeeping. Too small, but let’s take it. There is already a CSS scheme called “National Beekeeping and Honey Mission" (NBHM). The NBHM has been doing exactly the same things as announced today, under Mini Missions 1, 2 & 3. 13/n […]
Then the FM announced the extension of the existing supply chain development scheme (Operation Greens) from just potato, onion and tomato to all fruits & vegetables. Welcome; but she gave it just Rs 500 crore to be implemented as a pilot project over 6 months. 14/n
FM then announced the amendment to the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) to allow the removal of food stock limits for traders. There is no clarity on how the amendment will change the ECA; we have to wait and see if it will weaken the govt’s ability at price control. 15/n […]
The FM also announced plans to pass a central law to remove inter-state trade barriers in agriculture; promote e-trading; & allow farmers to sell outside APMC markets. This is going to be contentious; States may protest the intrusion of centre into their domain. 16/n
The Niti Ayog has supported this step and said that even if agriculture is a state subject, inter-state trade is in the Union list. But sale in APMC markets has nothing to do with inter-state trade; so, this argument doesn’t hold water. Better to pull back.17/n
Covid-19 crisis should not be used by the central government to attack the federal principles of our country. It should create spaces for increased cooperation with States, and not open new avenues of fighting with them over what are rightfully State’s matters. 18/n
The last announcement of creating a “legal framework” to ensure that farmers get a predictable price at the sowing time itself was totally vague. We have to wait and see what is in store here. Seems like a thought in progress! 19/n
In sum, Part 3 of "Project Evade" today was just a rehashed narration of existing schemes sprinkled with bombastic claims. It had nothing new to offer farmers as relief in the midst to today’s distress. Their requests and demands were totally dismissed away. Disappointing. 20/20
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