IMF BACKS LAWS, WITH SAFETY NET

WASHINGTON: The recently-enacted farm laws have the potential to increase farmers’ income, but there is a need to provide a social safety net to the vulnerable cultivators, International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath has said.

Indian agriculture is in need of reforms, she said. “That said, every time a reform is put in place, there are transition costs. One has to make sure and pay close attention that it’s not harming vulnerable farmers,” she said on Tuesday.