Telangana govt currently provides the state's 5.83 million farmers an income support of Rs 4,000 per acre per season, irrespective of the size of their land holding
The experience of direct cash transfer under PM-Kisan will be useful in designing a larger scheme of DBT for farmers combining all subsidies and support for the agriculture sector in the future, say Ramesh Chand & SK Srivastava.
The state was asked not to publicise the disbursement during the poll code as part of the condition.
Experts say the state's economy is grappling with hidden debt, rising welfare costs, and lack of transparency.
Telangana's Rythu Bandhu policy is an embryonic UBI, or rather embryonic QUBI (a quasi-universal basic income, pronounced Kyoo-Bee). And it could potentially also be the future of agricultural policy in India, says Arvind Subramanian.
However, finding the funds to fulfill them will be a herculean task.
Raising social security pension amounts, increasing financial assistance given under the 'Rythu Bandhu' investment support scheme for farmers and providing LPG cylinders at Rs 400 each are some of the promises made by the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti for the upcoming assembly elections in Telangana.
TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is expected to announce the new name for the party on Wednesday, considered auspicious in view of Vijayadasami.
Experts foresee possible scenarios: A BRS government with less majority, a BRS government with BJP and AIMIM support, or a Congress government.
The situation raises concerns about whether the promised freebies will once again push the state into a revenue deficit.
From all indications, Sunil Kanugolu is here to stay, though whether his magic will help the Congress in the northern states in the Lok Sabha elections remains to be seen, wonders Aditi Phadnis.
A resolution to this effect was passed at the party's general body meeting in Hyderabad, party sources said.
The TRS ensured that each citizen of Telangana is taken care of from cradle to grave.
The colourful rally galvanised the BRS workers who shouted slogans hailing the party-led regime's welfare schemes in Telangana and peppy political songs praised Rao's 'national' emergence.
'Barring Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the BJP will may make inroads in Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana in 2024.'
'He is exposing the failings of the BJP, which is rankling the party.'
While the likelihood of these states going the Lanka or Greece way may be an alarming assessment, the financial situation of some states such as Punjab and West Bengal is indeed quite weak.
In renaming TRS and repositioning it as a 'national' party, KCR is also eyeing a pole position in opposition politics ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor E S L Narasimhan at a simple ceremony on the lawns of Raj Bhavan.
13 eminent economists, including former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and current International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Gita Gopinath, in a report have asked the political establishment not to resort to populist tricks.
'Freebies are yet be proven a 'pucca' vote-catcher. But don't say that to KCR because he takes pride in two things: His record of delivery and imagination,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Alas, the 'basic income' schemes that have hit the headlines in the recent past are a far cry from the genuine article in terms of coverage and fiscal implications, says Vijay Joshi.
Fortune favours the brave and he has done well by taking risks and winning it all, says Aditi Phadnis.
Though the wily TRS supremo, credited with achieving the separate state of Telangana, stopped short of saying he was about to declare dissolution of the assembly, none doubted its imminence.
Despite the growing clamour from the central government on India turning digital, and banks requesting direct bank account transfer, the state government decided to hand over cheques to the farmers, which can be immediately converted into cash.
The area-based income compensation scheme says that farmers should be paid the difference between the actual price they get and the state-mandated MSP. The compensation will be determined on a per acre basis by using district-level estimates of marketable surplus and prices in the harvest season.
Polling was by and large peaceful in the bypolls for three Lok Sabha and seven assembly seats spread across five states and Delhi on Thursday barring an incident of stabbing of a policeman in Tripura, where polling was the highest at 76.62 per cent.
KCR will continue as caretaker chief minister until the new government is formed.
'The BJP leadership and its agriculture minister must make up their mind on what kind of corrective measures will be needed for Indian agriculture at this point in time.' 'The sooner Mr Singh provides policy clarity on this vital issue, the better are the chances of India's agriculture and farmers emerging out of their current mess,' says A K Bhattacharya.
'In this country, if any government acquires one of these images -- anti-farmer, or anti-poor or corrupt -- the government doesn't survive.' 'The Modi government is fast acquiring that anti-farmer image, that is why it is nervous.'
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