Modi, ministers discuss steps to fix agrarian crisis

‘Economically viable’, ‘politically sound’ measures planned

NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met finance minister Arun Jaitley, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah and agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh late on Wednesday night to discuss possible sops for farmers ahead of the 2019 general election — a clear indication the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is well on course to responding to a politically challenging agrarian crisis in the country.

The two-hour-long discussions between the PM and his top ministerial colleagues, in the presence of the BJP chief, set off, on Thursday, a series of inter-departmental meetings at the Prime Minister’s Office, the finance ministry, the agriculture ministry and Niti Aayog, the government’s policy think-tank, a government official said, asking not to be identified.

The meeting between the prime minister and his colleagues was preceded by ministerial-level meetings on possible farm solutions over the past week. A person familiar with the matter said that any solution will have to be “economically viable” and “politically appealing”, but refused to elaborate.

The agrarian crisis, primarily the result of a glut in farm production and a consequent decline in the prices of key commodities, is expected to figure prominently in the general election campaign next year.

In the recent round of state assembly elections, the opposition Congress wrested back the key heartland states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan by promising farm loan waivers within 10 days of coming to power there.

The government has four broad proposals on the table, all of which will be evaluated in further follow-up meetings.

One, the government hasn’t completely ruled out a loan waiver, a second government official said on condition of anonymity, but it is generally “disinclined” to opt for a national farm loan write-off of the sort being demanded by Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

One reason is that many states

have already announced multiple farm loan waivers. Secondly, the government’s fiscal space is anyway tight.

“In that case, the government will come up with a solution that

is better and more attractive than a loan waiver,” this official added. Two, the government is weighing its options for a national-level “direct income support” scheme for all land-owning farmers.