ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Income Support Schemes

The PM KISAN scheme provides `6,000 to farmers to procure inputs and other household needs. The scheme is criticised for providing too little support. Features of various income support schemes are compared. Mukhyamantri Krishi Aashirwad, Mukhyamantri Parivar Samman Nidhi and Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation scheme have income redistributive feature across land size class. Schemes like KALIA, MPSN and Rythu Bandhu support tenant and agricultural labourers. In West Bengal, having Krishak Bandhu along with PM KISAN would have greatly helped farmers to absorb risk in farming.

 

Too Little, Too Late

The last budget of the Modi government comes against the backdrop of severe agrarian and rural distress. It is also the last opportunity to undo the damage caused to the rural economy by this government in the last four years. While the government has finally acknowledged the gravity of the situation, its response has been limited to empty rhetoric without any financial commitment. Going by the past record of the government, it is clear that it is serious neither in its commitment nor in its intent. The half-hearted measures are not only too little and too late, it is also clear that this budget is unlikely to revive the rural economy.

Appraising the Indian Handloom Industry

A seminar on the handloom industry in Hyderabad brought to the fore the issues and concerns facing this largely rural sector. Among other issues, it highlighted the lack of a reliable database on the handloom industry, and its implications for policy formulation. Field-based research and analysis can form an important basis for building theoretical models and well as strategies for action for the Indian handloom industry.

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