DownToEarth – Online

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 ...

The New Indian Express – Online

NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand and his team called on Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at his camp office in Tadepalli on Friday. He was all praise for the State, which he said is excelling in all aspects of agriculture and allied sectors and lauded the ‘remarkable schemes that are being implemented in the State’. Citing statistics, Ramesh Chand said that Andhra Pradesh performance is better than other States with regard to the per capita income and growth rate in agriculture and allied sectors. The Chief Minister explained various development and welfare programmes that have been initiated in the State, besides bringing many revolutionary changes in agriculture, health, education and housing sectors. ...

Business Today – Online

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday said farmers and farming should be treated with honour. The minister was addressing the inaugural session of the two-day International Conference on “Harnessing Indian Agriculture for Indigenous and Global Prosperity” here, organised in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. “The farmer is not despondent, hungry or poor, rather there is a need to get out of this terminology. The farmer may be poor, he may own small fields but in spite of this he not only supports his family but also contributes to the agricultural economy of the country. Farmers and farming should be treated with honour,” ...

Moneycontrol – Online

India is not facing a crisis as far as wheat is concerned, the minister for agriculture and farmers welfare said on July 22. “There is no wheat crisis in the country, as India produces more wheat than its domestic requirement,” Narendra Singh Tomar said in a written response in Parliament’s Upper House. As per third advance estimate, the wheat production has been pegged at 106.41 million tonnes during 2021-22 which is above the five-year average production of 103.89 million tonnes, the minister said. India had on May 13 banned wheat exports to ensure domestic availability but has been allowing shipments to select countries as assistance. It has since then also tasked an inter-ministerial committee with decisions ...