What Do the Reformers Have for Agriculture

Ashok Gulati Shashanka Bhide The Central Budget for 1995-96 has little to cheer those who seek to bring about major changes either in the marketing arrangements or institutional structures for pricing and distribution in Indian agriculture. The measures to establish a 'Rural Infrastructural Development Fund' to quicken the pace of completion of infrastructure projects in rural sector are important steps as are the measures to increase the coverage under 'Indira Awas Yojana'. However, as in the case of many of the well intentioned schemes, lack of appropriate complementary institutional mechanisms to operate such schemes may prove to be the pitfall of these new schemes also. Failure to address the reforms needed in agriculture may indeed become the drag on the overall reform process.