Monsoon Session Updates: Centre passes two agriculture bills in LS

21:48 September 17

Centre passes two agriculture bills in LS

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 after facing a heating argument from the opposition parties finally passed in the Lok Sabha. 

21:44 September 17

Contract farming is not meant to help corporates: Tomar

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that contract farming is not meant to help corporates, but to help farmers. He said that the bill will ensure that many services will reach small farmers. "Contract will not lead to taking over of land. If the corporates build some infrastructure, it will only benefit the farmer in the end," Narendra Tomar said.

21:25 September 17

New farm bill will boost income of farmers: Agriculture Minister

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that the two bills aim to make farmers prosperous and legislations will not impact the provisions of minimum support price (MSP). He said the bill does not encroach on the rights of state Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC)s and inter-state trade can take place.

"These two bills make farming profitable and prosperous and will also give freedom to farmers. Farmers will have the right to sell their products to anyone. There will be no tax of state government or central government on trade outside mandis. Now only 50-60 people do trade in mandis and competition exists among themselves," the minister said. 

21:12 September 17

Farmer and SAD are synonymous as a party is inspired by the egalitarian vision of the founder of Sikh faith, Shri Guru Nanak Dev who spent nearly 20 years working in his fields at Kartarpur Sahib as a humble farmer. It's enough to show what farmers mean to SAD: Harsimrat Kaur Badal to PM

20:52 September 17

Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigns to protest farm bills

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the Akali Dal's lone minister in the Narendra Modi government, on Thursday resigned from the Union Cabinet to protest the farm bills.

Taking to Twitter, Kaur informed about her resignation and said, "I have resigned from Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter & sister."

20:51 September 17

Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal will quit Modi govt to protest farm bills: SAD president

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal announced in Lok Sabha on Thursday that party leader and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal will quit the Modi government in protest against the three farm bills tabled by the Centre in Parliament.

17:32 September 17

Tomar says legislations will provide farmers freedom to sell produce

Moving the two bills for passage in the House, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that the two bills aim to make farmers prosperous and legislations will not impact the provisions of minimum support price (MSP). He said the bill does not encroach on the rights of state Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC)s and inter-state trade can take place.

"These two bills make farming profitable and prosperous and will also give freedom to farmers. Farmers will have the right to sell their products to anyone. There will be no tax of state government or central government on trade outside mandis. Now only 50-60 people do trade in mandis and competition exists among themselves," the minister said. 

Tomar said that these bills will be able to meet the requirements of farming in the future and lead to more investment in agriculture. "After these bills become Acts, the competition will increase and private investment will reach villages. Farming infrastructure will be built and new employment opportunities will be generated. It will encourage the export of agricultural produce. Through these reforms, a farmer can connect with big traders and exporters to make his farming profitable," he said.

17:05 September 17

New farm bill will enhance living standard of farmers: Ballia MP

Praising the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, as well as the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Ballia, Virendra Singh, said that the three Bills on agriculture before the Parliament will increase the price of farmers produce and investment in the agriculture sector. 

Speaking at Lok Sabha, Singh said, "To increase the farmers produce, make value edition and investments in the agriculture sector three Bills come for farmers in the Parliament. One is passed in Lok Sabha yesterday after discussions--Essential commodities Act. The others are Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce Act. The third is the Farmers Empowerment and Protection Agreement on Price Assurance." 

"All these Bills which are being discussed in Parliament, are very far-sighted and with that vision, we are in the process of passing the Bills as Act in Parliament," he said

16:31 September 17

For the sake of PM's birthday, please drop the bill to save farmers: Congress MP

Criticising the Central government's move over the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, as well as the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, Congress MP from Ravneet Singh, termed the bills as 'anti-farmer' and urged the government to drop the bill to save the farmer.

16:02 September 17

LS resumes after paying tribute to Tirupati MP

Lok Sabha resumes after paying tribute to Balli Durga Prasada Rao, YSRCP Member of Parliament from Tirupati, who succumbed to Covid on Wednesday. 

15:33 September 17

It should be reconsidered if we really want to save farmers: Farooq Abdullah on farm bill

This is problematic for the farmers. This should be reconsidered if we really want to save farmers: National Conference MP, Farooq Abdullah on Bills for farmers in Parliament.

15:07 September 17

Lok Sabha condoles death of Tirupati MP; house adjourned till 4 pm

Lok Sabha Speaker has condoled the demise of Balli Durga Prasada Rao, YSRCP Member of Parliament from Tirupati, who succumbed to Covid on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the house has been adjourned till 4 pm today.

The 64-year-old MP won the Tirupati seat under SC category in the 2019 parliamentary elections.

Earlier, he was an MLA for three terms and also worked as the Minister of School Education in united Andhra Pradesh during 1995-96.Rao was a member of the Standing Committee of Social Justice and Empowerment and also the Consultative Committee in the Ministry of Shipping.

He is from Venkatagiri town in Nellore

14:41 September 17

Lok Sabha LIVE

Hyderabad: The Central government will move the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 as well as the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 in the Lok Sabha for their passage later on Thursday. Both the bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on day one of the Monsoon session on Monday. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will move the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020.

The bill will replace the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020 promulgated by the President on June 5 this year. In the new ecosystem, farmers and traders as per the government will enjoy the freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of their produce which facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels to promote efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce.

The farmers' produce will go outside the physical premises of the markets or deemed markets notified under various state agricultural produce market legislations to provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading.

Tomar will also move the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 for its passage replacing the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 promulgated by the President on June 5 this year.

Through the bill, the Agriculture Minister aims at providing a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers.

This move targets farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework in a fair and transparent manner.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020 which provides relaxation and amendment of provisions of certain Acts.

The Minister will also explain the reasons for immediate legislation by the promulgation of the Taxation and other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020.

Sitharaman will also move the Appropriation Bill, 2020 for introduction and consideration to authorise payment and appropriation of certain further sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2020-2021.