New Delhi: Addressing the joint session of the Parliament on the eve of the annual Budget session President Ram Nath Kovind has said that the three farm laws have started benefitting more than 10 crore small farmers.
Reiterating the government stance that the farm laws would benefit the majority of small and marginal farmers in the country, the President said: "After an elaborate discussion, the Parliament has passed three significant farm laws seven months ago. Over 10 crore small farmers in the country have started benefitting from these new laws.”
The President was referring to three laws, namely, Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act which faced stiff resistance from farmers.
Meanwhile, Members of Parliament belonging to 19 political parties led by Congress have boycotted the President Address in support of the ongoing farmers protest.
The major contention of the farmers and opposition is that the new laws would facilitate privatisation and corporatisation of agriculture in the country as there is no clause related to guaranteed minimum support price (MSP).
After hearing petitions challenging the constitutionality of the laws, the Supreme Court last month suspended the implementation of three laws and appointed a four-member expert committee to ‘negotiate’ between the farmers and the government.
Progressive reforms from Seed to Market
In the beginning of the speech, the President Ram Nath Kovind has noted that an empowered agriculture sector is key to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan that was launched by the government last May to make India a major player in the global supply chain.
“To achieve ‘Aatmanirbhar Agriculture Sector’, the government has launched various progressive reforms starting from Seed to Market so that agriculture can become modern and agriculture can also expand,” the President said.
On MSP, the President said that the government is providing 1.5 times the cost of production as minimum support price as per the recommendation of the Swaminathan Commission.
“The government is not only procuring at MSP but also increasing the number of procurement centres,” added the President in the speech approved by the Union Cabinet.
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