Gearing up for the next general elections, the government has started work on a mega package worth over Rs 65,000 crore for the farm sector towards waiving off farmers? loans.
The proposal has been initially discussed between agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and finance minister P Chidambaram. These two ministers are slated to take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shortly, after which a note would be prepared by the agriculture ministry for Cabinet approval. The share of the burden by commercial and cooperative banks and the government’s subvention rate for waiving off loans would also be determined.
Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of the 79th AGM of Indian Council of Agricultural Research Society on Wednesday, Pawar said: ?We are considering how to provide relief to farmers in difficulty. However, has nothing to do with elections.?
The agriculture sector package would mainly benefit small farmers with 80% of the amount being earmarked for small and marginal farmers, 17% for medium farmers and 1-2% for others, he added.
The Congress-led UPA government has faced electoral defeats in states like Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The general elections are due in May 2009.
Earlier, addressing the AGM, Pawar asked the ICAR to reorient research and development in agriculture and bridge critical gaps wherever present. He said the pace of innovations in agriculture universities and research institutions in India was not satisfactory and therefore remedial steps must be taken by the ICAR. Similarly, there was a need to revise the course curriculum of agricultural education to make it more relevant, he said.
Pawar drew the attention of the ICAR towards the resources and facilities available under the Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and National Food Security Mission.