Modi government took a big decision for the farmers' debt waiver
The government launched an e-marketing programme - E-NAM - for agricultural produce. A host of apps were launched to help farmers. These apps include Kisan Suvidha, Pusa Krishi, Crop Insurance, Crop Insurance Portal, AgriMarket and CCE Agri.
In this year's budget, a steep increase of 24 per cent was made in the total allocation for the rural, agriculture and allied sectors. Nearly Rs 2 lakh crore was committed for farmers and rural India.
The government has set a target of electrifying all the villages by May 1 next year. This is considered a great move to benefit the farmers and farm sector. The Modi government allocated a record Rs 48,700 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).
The target for farm credit, in the budget, was fixed at a new high of Rs 10 lakh crore. The government has planned to build 1 crore pucca houses for the poor by 2019. A large share of this will come up in the villages.
To make villages drought-proof, the government announced building 5 lakh more ponds in addition to an equal number built last year. All these measures were expected to help the farmers and farm sector. But, it seems something is missing, forcing farmers to go up in arms.
The Modi government has focussed immensely on providing loans and credits to farmers. But, it seems, it overlooked the fact that farming in India works beyond the limits of loans.
