FOCUS ON DOUBLING AGRI INCOME
recommend policies with a short turnaround time, the government official added. “The PM wants conclusive solutions on which the government can get rolling right away. He wants to be briefed then and there on what can be done. The focus is of course on doubling farm incomes,” the official added.
According to the official, the Prime Minister has also invited representatives of farmers. “He wants to get the real stories from the ground from farmers’ representatives.”
The initiative comes after a wave of farmer protests in key BJP-ruled states such as Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Angry farmers dumped produce Experts invited to the meeting include economists, academics and policy-makers, along with representatives of farmers.
The purpose is to identify ways in which the Centre can quickly address the crisis and work towards doubling the income of farmers, said an official.
The initiative comes after a wave of farmer protests in key BJP-ruled states on streets to protest poor returns. This prompted the government to announce -- in the Union budget presented on February 1 -- that it would set minimum support prices for 23 crops at 1.5 times the cost of cultivation. This will effectively mean 50% profits, which the BJP promised in its 2014 election manifesto.
The PM will sit through presentations from experts drawn from agricultural universities as well as the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
“The invitees will give national-level inputs to the PM in a structured way. The agriculture ministry will then be required to select the most realistic solutions