Columnists

Ajay Vir Jakhar

The writer is chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj

Budget, like farm laws, is marred by gap between intentions of government and ground realities of agriculture

Wed, Feb 03, 2021

Investment in human capital, science and research remains the Achilles heel of Indian policy. The budget allocation for agriculture research and education has constantly declined from 0.31 per cent of the gross value added of agriculture and allied activities in 2011-12 to 0.24 per cent now

Both government and farmers need to re-evaluate their positions

Tue, Jan 12, 2021

Before the storm begins to take a turn for the worse or begins to ebb, it is time also for the farmers to reassess and seek positive concessions, because at the end of the agitation, no one would want a status quo ante, that is inevitable otherwise.

Farm bills: Politics now threatens to complicate the process

Thu, Oct 22, 2020

An opportunity has been lost in the lackadaisical handling of the issue.

Farmers are paying more, even under schemes meant for their benefit

Wed, Sep 09, 2020

Each of the poverty alleviation programmes seems to have a recurring theme — being funded by the poor themselves.

Policymakers still talk of ‘food security’, it’s time to plan for ‘nutritional self-reliance’

Wed, Jul 22, 2020

Farmers will need to be supported in perpetuity; they can never become atmanirbhar. The question is how best to support farmers such that India may become nutrition self-reliant

Ordinances on agriculture show unwise haste, may do harm along with good

Thu, Jun 18, 2020

Rather than coax the states financially to correct the markets, an unregulated marketplace has been created where 15 crore farmers will be exposed to the skulduggery of traders. Imagine the mayhem in stock markets if ROC and SEBI were similarly made redundant.

Trimming government pay structures, streamlining expenses as crucial as economic stimulus

Fri, Apr 24, 2020

Now is the time to cut the Gordian knot to rationalise pay structures. It is within the remit of the government to evoke the constitutional provisions of Article 360 to declare a financial emergency… Those holding the government’s reins must set aside their pride and reverse the ill-conceived corporate tax-cuts.

Stimulus is less than what it appears to be, govt must do more for farmers

Sat, Mar 28, 2020

Farmers have wholeheartedly voted for the PM twice; it is the time he reciprocated the feelings and returned the favour. Every season has an end for a harvest to begin.

Government must engage in a collaborative effort with farmer groups

Fri, Jan 24, 2020

There is an ambiguous provision to levy income tax on “dairying”. Either the provision should be removed or it should be clarified that it does not include dairy farmers. Dairying is a part of agriculture and as per the Constitution, it is a state subject.

Farmer unions need to expand the scope of their advocacy

Fri, Dec 13, 2019

Affiliation to political parties has been a poisonous pill for the unions. Their leaderships have often become family affairs, where affiliation is rewarded by plum positions when their political mentors are in power.

Awareness campaigns are needed to deal with climate change

Wed, Sep 25, 2019

It’s absolutely essential to invest billions in a decade-long awareness campaign to reduce wastage of food and change consumer behaviour. If not, climate change prophesies will come true.

To improve farm livelihoods, a slew of measures is required in Budget 2019

Tue, Jul 02, 2019

The perpetual disregard for allocating funds for human resources both at the national and state level has extracted a heavy toll on the nation. Development of human resources must become the foremost priority of Budget 2019 and the defining goal of the next decade.