Data shows that the current system of decentralised marketing and centralised procurement helps Punjab and Haryana farmers the most, while its efficacy in other states has been poor. Experts and farm leaders say success of the laws rests heavily on implementation.
He also said that train services will resume after the state government and protesting farmer unions assure the safety of the tracks. Tomar and Union Food, Commerce and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal held a day-long meeting with representatives of various farmer unions at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
While okra was being sold for Rs 100-120 a kg and cauliflower for Rs 120-140 a kg in Mumbai and its suburbs, all other vegetable prices have increased by almost 100 per cent since July 20.
As the issue remained deadlocked with both sides sticking to their respective positions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while laying the foundation stone for a new Parliament building, invoked Guru Nanak to underscore the importance of dialogue and noted that the Sikh Guru had said that interaction should continue till eternity.
Not only primary vegetables, but also additives like garlic, ginger and chilly have recorded a sharp increase in prices
Responding to the NCP leader's remarks, Tomar said Pawar, who is a veteran leader, is also considered well-versed with the issues and solutions relating to agriculture. "Pawar himself tried hard to bring the same agriculture reforms earlier."
V Singh said that "actual farmers are very happy with what has been done in last six months."
The move comes days after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asked states under party's rule to enact legislations to bypass Centre's three farm-related laws that have triggered protests by farmers.
Critics who cannot stop gloating, pronouncing Modi to be a lame-duck prime minister, may be making a huge mistake, predicts Virendra Kapoor.
In a meeting with the President on behalf of these 18 non-National Democratic Alliance parties, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said he has requested the President to return the bills, and only give his assent after they have been passed after following proper rules and procedures.
What some of us think are strong, bold and firm decisions are cruel, harsh and unwanted for others. This is what we need to consider when we look at what has happened with the farm laws, asserts Aakar Patel.
'Now that the home minister met us to discuss our demands a hope has definitely been kindled that farmers's demands will be met by this government.'
In most cases, however, retail consumers are paying higher prices in the absence of direct procurement from aggregator or farmers.
Farmers gathered at several national highways, key roads and some railway tracks in Punjab and Haryana on Friday morning as part of their nationwide protest against the Centre's new agri laws.
Worried about the adverse impact that price rise could cause to Congress' prospects in Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi unveiled quick fix policy prescriptions for 12 party-ruled states including reform in PDS and giving farmers a wider choice to sell vegetables and fruits.
Kiran Vissa, co-convenor of National Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, said that amendments to the EC Act have nothing to do with farmers' welfare but instead meant to please big players and agriculture companies. This is because small and marginal farmers don't have the storage capacity to attract provisions of the EC Act.
There have been several instances of traders dumping fruits and vegetables outside mandis. Or of farmers dumping produce outside their villages or feeding them to their animals.
In a communication to the chief secretaries of the states and Union territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said the guidelines for the fourth phase of the lockdown were issued after taking the views of the states, following a video-conference held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with chief ministers on May 11.
Releasing the manifesto titled 'Badlav Ka Sankalp' (commitment to change) in the presence of All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and other Mahagathbandhan leaders, Tejashwi Yadav said their government, if elected, would first approve the process for appointments on about 10 lakh jobs in the government.
States need to create alternative marketing structures for farm produce since middlemen also provide vital services that are otherwise unavailable to the farmer.
'Let me assure the nation on behalf of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha that our protests have not weakened at all or lost steam.'
Winning an election may be a breeze for the BJP but the aftermath of victory isn't always painless.
The report admits that converting MSP to a floor price of auction on the eNAM portal will not completely solve the problem as the current data shows that average modal prices in e-NAM mandis is lower than the minimum support price in all commodities except urad.
Their demands will be met of course, and this government will move on to the next great idea, without an apology or an explanation, predicts Aakar Patel.
Addressing a press conference, farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chadoni said if the Centre does not accept their demands during Saturday's talks, they will intensify their agitation against the new farm laws.
According to the ministry's data updated in the evening, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 1,574, followed by Tamil Nadu at 911 and Delhi at 903.
Rajnath also attacked the Congress for the burning of a tractor by protesters from their youth wing.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Budget for 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha that is expected to provide relief to the pandemic-hit common man as well as focus more on driving economic recovery through higher spending on healthcare, infrastructure and defence amid rising tensions with neighbours, As India emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, the ninth Budget under the Modi government, including an interim one, is widely expected to focus on boosting spending on job creation and rural development, generous allocations for development schemes, putting more money in the hands of the average taxpayer and easing rules to attract foreign investments.
Speaking at industry association CII's annual session, PM Modi said the government has taken tough steps to fight the coronavirus pandemic and has also taken care of the economy. "On the one hand we have to safe the lives of our people and on the other hand we have to stabilise the economy and speed up the economy," he said. "Yes, we will definitely get our growth back," he asserted.
The petitions alleged that these laws would dismantle the Agricultural Produce Market Committee system intended to ensure fair prices for farm products
Modi also said that presently a 'new trend' is being seen in the country where protests are based on creating doubts through misinformation while union ministers urged farmers not to have any misconceptions about the three agriculture reform legislations.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar accused the Congress of ignoring farmers' interests and keeping them poor to ensure cheap grain prices, and asserted that the Modi government empowered them by implementing the Swaminathan commission report to give them remunerative price through MSP.
The government should set up agricultural co-operatives in every cluster of villages and in respective districts on a war-footing within a time limit. We should involve the services of our military personnel who retire at a young age with several years of working life still left in them and would be happy to contribute to nation-building, recommends Atul Gupta.
The crop is currently trading at Rs 22 a kg compared to Rs 12.50 one month ago.
'We need to further catalyse economic growth and the government needs to increase revenue,' says G K Agarwal, BJP's national spokesperson on economic affairs.
The forecast of deficient monsoon rainfalls scared farmers.
The government has only taken a pause and more measures will be announced in the days to come to help sectors hit by the coronavirus outbreak and also to make India 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the government has taken several steps to mitigate the hardships of the people due to lockdown and support growth, Thakur told PTI in an interview.
With almost all opposition parties too backing the 'Bharat bandh' and many announcing parallel protests in support of the farmers, the Centre has issued an advisory directing the states and Union Territories to tighten security and ensure peace is maintained.
The southwest monsoon season was deficient by 16 per cent.
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