Cash transfers for farmers (Merge income schemes of govts with MGNREGA)

Excellent study material for all civil services aspirants - begin learning - Kar ke dikhayenge!

 Cash transfers for farmers (Merge income schemes of govts with MGNREGA)

---

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

---

• Stimulus package: It was clear soon after PM Modi's first announcement that the Rs.20 lakh crore package had little of "new cash" in it. The real help was not more than 1% of GDP (rather than the claimed 10%). It was largely more new loans, and loans deferment.
• Why so stingy: The govt's tax revenues are falling, and it doesn't want to print more cash due to downgrade fears from rating agencies. The worst hit migrant workers too did not get worthwhile cash support.
• Farmers hit: Perishables' prices dropped sharply, and onions and tomatoes sold for just Rs.6 per kg (production cost is more) in large mandis (Lasalgaon, Chittoor and Kolar). Horticulturists face pressure too. PM-KISAN's first instalment of Rs.2000 is promised now.
• RGKNY: The new Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY) by Chhattishgarh govt. entails income transfers of Rs.10000 per acre (paddy farmers) and Rs.13000 per acre (sugarcane farmers). That may put money straight into the hands of farmers, and later landless agri labourers too (CM's promise).
• Earlier cash transfer schemes: Telangana gave Rs.5000 per acre per season for Kharif. The Odisha govt. launched its KALIA scheme (Krishak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation). W Bengal has the Krishak Bandhu, and Jharkhand as Mukhya Mantri Krishi Aashirwad Yojana. These led to the PM Kisan Yojana coming into existence. It may be time to refine and merge some of these income support schemes.
• An analysis:

1. Who benefits from these schemes - Cash goes to owner farmer, or the tenant farmer doing the tilling? In the absence of tenancy records, real tillers lose out. Govt records show only 10% tenancy, but the reality may be 3 to 5 times that. Why give money to absentee landlords? Change the tenancy laws, open up land lease markets, protecting property rights duly. Today's laws are against the owner, thereby only oral tenancy exists.
2. What to do till such laws come? Inform the tillers that money has gone to the landowner, and he must pass it to the tiller. Carry out information campaigns.
3. How to identify the landless labourers? Since most are seasonal workers, leaving their identification to local panchayats will breed corruption. It is better to synchronise MGNREGA with farm operations now.
4. That integration is allowed as per law, for farms owned by SC/ST communities, and on marginal farmers' lands.

• Summary: Various income support schemes can now be merged - PM-KISAN and state-level schemes - with MGNREGA and price-subsidies.

1. Food and fertiliser subsidies come from Centre, and power subsidy from States. Total outgo is Rs.5 lakh crores, which can be good enough for basic income for poor households.
2. Later, they can decide how to spend that money.
3. This can be given to poor consumers, farmers and landless labourers - many overlap.
4. This direct cash transfer can solve many problems of today.

• Summary : Given the income and livelihood stresses created post-pandemic, and the multiple schemes that run today, it is time for merging them and building a direct cash support system.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

Join UPSC Self Prep course | Online Course (PT Gurukul)  | Covid Special Course | Join PT courses

* Content sourced from free internet sources (publications, PIB site, international sites, etc.). Take your own subscriptions. Copyrights acknowledged.