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<ul><li>Around 40,000 farmers marched into Mumbai from <keyword id="42738" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nashik">Nashik</keyword> covering over 180 kilometres. </li><li>Last year the <keyword id="13126" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maharashtra">Maharashtra</keyword> government announced a loan waiver to the tune of Rs 34,022 crores of which only around Rs 12,381 crore has been transferred into bank accounts. </li><li>The Economic Survey of Maharashtra has forecasted a negative agriculture growth of (-) 8.3% in 2017-18.</li></ul>Around 40,000 weary farmers marched into Mumbai from Nashik covering over 180 kilometres with the sole intention of getting the Maharashtra government to heed to a list of their demands that include: 1) 100% waiver of their loans as well as electricity bills. 2) Implementation of the <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/what-is/swaminathan-commission-report-and-how-is-its-implementation-relevant-farmer-protest-madhya-pradesh-4694949/" data-type="tilCustomLink">Swaminathan Commission recommendations</a>. 3) Better rates for crops. 4) The announcement of minimum support price for agriculture produce. 5) Pension scheme for farmers. 6) Land rights for farmers. Led by the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) — the farmers’ collective of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) — these farmers have been adversely affected by the poor rainfall and erratic climate conditions. The Economic Survey of Maharashtra has forecasted a negative agriculture growth at (-) 8.3% in 2017-18 and the primary cause of poor yields can be attributed to droughts, inadequate pricing policies and poor water management. Maharashtra followed Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Punjab last year to announce a loan waiver to the tune of <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Politics/A61IDl1h10pb3cLrQUsl6M/Maharashtra-farm-loan-waiver-Rs12381-crore-reaches-account.html">Rs 34,022 crores of which only around Rs12,381 crore has been transferred into bank accounts</a>. Together, the large-scale farm debt waivers of all the three states amounted to around <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Politics/HcS9M9n9rus7h5JiLQC2ZM/How-will-farm-loan-waivers-impact-the-Indian-economy.html" data-type="tilCustomLink">Rs 77,000 crore or 0.5% of India’s 2016-17 GDP</a>. The decline in “agriculture and allied activities” has pulled down Maharashtra's economic growth to 7.3% in 2017-18 (down from 10% in 2016-17). But can India really afford these large-scale <keyword id="604781" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="loan-waivers">loan waivers</keyword>? If the current states that have offered loan waivers — Uttar Pradesh (UP), Punjab and Maharashtra — were to be joined by other major states like Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to extend one-third of farm loans waivers in their respective states, then the combined amount of farm debt waivers before the 2019 elections would inflate to Rs 2 trillion. Which is not too much of a dent, but if all the Indian states started to follow suit — which they probably will — and offered waivers to cover half of all farm debt instead of just one-third then the total waiver amount will increase to a whopping Rs 6.3 trillion. For a country that is already facing a significant bad loan problem, not to mention a burgeoning fiscal deficit, this move might prove drastically unfeasible. What’s more, if they fail to correct the root of the problem, it will only herald another frenzy of waivers in the near future as agricultural productivity continues to decline.

Maharashtra farmers march to Mumbai to ask for loan waivers

New Delhi, Dec 17 () The government should remove GST on agri-inputs, revamp crop insurance scheme, land lease rental while fixing MSP and ban futures trade on agri-commodities are some of the suggestions made by farm experts during pre-budget meeting with the Finance Minister on Tuesday.
Measures to promote organic farming, cut in import duty from 30 per cent to zero on live embryo, animal and semen, tweaking of electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) and revisiting of Food Security Act were some other recommendations made during the meeting, headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
This is the fourth pre-Budget meeting on agriculture and agro-processing sectors. Already, consultations with IT/start-ups, financial sector and industry have been held.
"There should be zero GST on every farm inputs such as fertilisers, seed and agri-equipments," Bharatiya Kisan Sangh's (BKS) Dinesh Kulkarni told reporters after the meeting.
He also said there should be no futures trading in agri-commodities as it does not benefit either consumers or farmers. He also urged the government to increase procurement of various crops at the minimum support price (MSP).
Bharat Krishak Samaj Chairman Ajay Vir Jakkar demanded that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) should be replaced with new crop insurance and compensation scheme or a set up a farmers disaster and distress relief commission.
He also said the government should reduce GST on processed food and dairy products to 5 per cent.
National Dairy Development Board Executive Director Arun Raste said, "We want import duty on live embryo, animal and semen to be reduced to zero. The government should also expedite implementation of National Dairy Plan (NDP-II) at the earliest and make a budgetary provision".
The NDP-II, which aims to boost productivity in dairy sector, is estimated to cost USD 1 billion, of which 50 per cent will be borne by the World Bank and 30 per cent by the Centre and remaining 20 per cent by NDDB.
Consortium of Indian Farmers' Association (CIFA) Secretary General B D Rami Reddy said the government should consider lease rental cost while determining MSP for crops as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.
Other stakeholders pitched for building brands of Indian agricultural products abroad, accelerate depreciation benefit to agri-processing industry, encourage development of farm eco-system services and market intelligence systems.
They also recommended development of agro-medicinal forestry, crop diversification, revisiting of Food Security Act, extending subsidy to producers of green manure, bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides besides steps for promoting large scale production of compost by utilisation of urban solid waste.
The farm experts also felt the need for expansion of multi-dimensional research in agriculture sector for development of new technologies and further suggested for promoting start-ups in institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and agriculture universities for young students.
The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur and senior officials from finance, agriculture, consumer affairs, food processing, animal husbandry ministries as well as Niti Aayog. 
There were representatives from National Cooperative Union of India, South Indian Sugarcane Farmers Association, Kisan Foundation, IFFCO, All India Spices Exporter Forum, NCDEX, Indian School of Business, Irrigation Association of India, National rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) and NABARD among many others. MJH LUX CS LUX BAL
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Pre-budget meet: Agri-experts demand scrapping GST on agri-inputs, revamp of PMFBY

Chennai, Tamil Nadu's ruling <keyword id="19897149" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dmk" source="keywords">DMK</keyword>, a key constituent of the INDIA bloc, in its manifesto released on Wednesday promised to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 if the opposition alliance wins the <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> polls. Restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and holding polls there, scrapping the New Education Policy 2020, slashing fuel prices, annulling Article 361 of the Constitution that provides protection to governors from legal action and appointment of Governors following consultation with Chief Ministers, were among the key promises made by the DMK. The recommendations of the M S Swaminathan committee will be adopted to ensure that MSP for agricultural products "is set at total production cost plus 50 per cent," the DMK said. Also, it announced that if voted to power, the INDIA bloc will withdraw the Agnipath scheme and reintroduce "permanent recruitment service" in the Indian Armed forces. "From now on, population census, including caste-wise census and census concerning people below the poverty line, will be conducted by the Union government once every five years simultaneously." The DMK will firmly insist on the removal of Article 356, which allows the dismissal of duly elected state governments and imposition of President's rule. The Congress party's ally in Tamil Nadu said that "new constraints" on States' borrowing capacity, imposed by the union government beyond the limits in each state's FRBM-equivalent Act will be eliminated. "A recommendation to share cess revenues with states will be made. It will be proposed that the Finance Commission increase the horizontal devolution of tax revenue (to all States together) from 42 per cent to 50 per cent." The Union government's financial contributions to states will be based on the income tax and GST collected in those states. Thus, financial contributions will be assured based on the taxes collected within each state. The finance provided to states will be permanently determined based on the 1971 population. A 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and legislative assemblies will be implemented immediately. "DMK will insist that the Union government enact a law providing menstrual leave to women, emphasizing the journey towards gender equality." Petrol and diesel prices "will be set at Rs 75, Rs 65 (per litre)" and cooking gas cylinders shall be made available at Rs 500 (per cylinder). "The introduction of the Uniform Civil Code will be strictly prevented" to preserve India's secular nature as stated in the Constitution's preamble. "The 2019 CAA law will be repealed, and all minorities will be treated equally without any discrimination. The recommendations of the Sachar Committee for the improvement of the lives of Muslims and other minority communities will be implemented." Facilitation will be provided for <keyword id="21027983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sri-lankan-tamil" source="keywords">Sri Lankan Tamil</keyword> refugees to get Indian citizenship. Assistance will be provided to those who wish to return to Sri Lanka. Also, the manifesto said efforts will be made to implement reservation for minorities at the all-India level, similar to Tamil Nadu. "The financial assistance previously provided to minority educational institutions has now been stopped. Action will be taken to resume this assistance." For "political" reasons, funding from foreign countries to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has currently been stopped. "The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act will be properly amended, and measures will be taken to ensure these financial aids continue to reach NGOs without any problems." The proposal of 'One Nation, One Election' will be abandoned, and for the allocation of Lok Sabha seats to states, the current practice, based on the 1971 census will continue. All "people-unfriendly" laws introduced by the BJP government over the last 10 years will be reviewed immediately by the INDIA alliance government. The "labour-hostile laws" introduced by the BJP government will be "reformed." Through the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), the Union government will ensure a minimum pension of Rs 5,000 per month. The number of working days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act will be increased from 100 to 150 days. "A wage of Rs 400 will be provided across states/ union territories nationwide." Disbanding the current NITI Aayog, set up by the BJP regime and establishing again the Planning Commission to draft plans based on the requests of state governments is another assurance the DMK has made. "Measures will be taken to reclaim Kachchatheevu to ensure India's security and to protect the welfare of the fishermen." A mandatory "cooling-off period" of 2 years will be introduced for retired judges and secretaries before they could join private companies or political parties, the manifesto said. Waiving loans and interests for farmers in nationalised and scheduled banks, waiver of educational loans for students, monthly entitlement of Rs 1,000 for all women in every state and formation of <keyword id="21027984" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="state-development-council" source="keywords">State Development Council</keyword> by including Chief Ministers were among the promises made by the DMK. Exemption for Tamil Nadu from the NEET exam and complete removal of toll booths on national highways, forms part of poll promises of the Dravidian party. Further, the DMK said amendments will be made to relevant laws to ensure that state governments, elected by the people, appoint Vice-Chancellors to state-run universities, rather than Governors. Stopping government's divestment from public sector enterprises, implementing the Sethusamudram project, law to ban online gambling, setting up a <keyword id="19895345" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="supreme-court" source="keywords">Supreme Court</keyword> branch in Chennai, providing statehood for <keyword id="19901639" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="puducherry" source="keywords">Puducherry</keyword>, equal funding for all state languages including Tamil, were among the host of other promises made by the DMK. Establishment of Tamil departments in varsities and stopping construction of <keyword id="19950851" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mekedatu" source="keywords">Mekedatu</keyword> dam were also promised by the DMK. "The <keyword id="19996334" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vishwakarma-scheme" source="keywords">Vishwakarma Scheme</keyword>, introduced by the BJP government to encourage caste-based occupations, will be restructured on the basis of social justice."

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Maharashtra farmers march to Mumbai to ask for loan waivers

Kavita Majumdar

Pre-budget meet: Agri-experts demand scrapping GST on agri-inputs, revamp of PMFBY

PTI

DMK vows to repeal CAA if INDIA bloc is voted to power

PTI

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