DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS
26 December, 2020
9 Min Read
GS-PAPER-3 Developmental issues (Mains-I.V)
By: Dipankar Gupta, an eminent sociologist, was a professor at the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Context: Food security and Farmer's income security are the two main policy dimensions in 21st Century India. If some of the section of farmers are protesting then it’s the duty of Gov. to listen to them and can try to solve the problem. Without the emphasis on Agriculture India is not in a condition to achieve the targets of a 5 trillion dollar economy. The farmers’ protest that currently ring-fences Delhi resists resolution as the air is dense with contrary sets of truths and half-truths. This has made activist farmers suspicious of the reactivist state, and the general public too is equally divided.
What is the truth??
Contract farming has not been a success for two reasons:
The anti-zamindari policy of land to the tiller might now work against the interest of farmers if they are not the actual tillers for an extended period.
(Renege meaning -* go back on promise or default on)
Government’s truth
Half-truths of protesters
Half-truths of the government
It is true that mainly big farmers, not small or marginal ones, go to mandis. This conceals the fact that most small farmers find the transportation cost too expensive as APMC-run mandis are few and far between. If there had been more of them nearby, then these mandis would have been their preferred choice.
WHAT NOW?
Political truth about subsidies
An uncomfortable truth looms above all this but is conveniently ignored by most.
This truth is that everybody benefits from subsidies. The farmers benefit (cheap electricity and fertilizers, for example), central Government employees benefit (the Central Government Health Scheme, for example), Ministers benefit, corporates benefit (for example, the “revenues foregone” by the government to help business; this increased by 16% in the 2018-19 Budget), the armed forces benefit (rations for the services are priced much lower, for example), poor children benefit (government schools), universities benefit (State and central universities), even prisons benefit (in the U.S., as many as 8% of prisoners are in privately-run prisons).
When a particular subsidy is withdrawn, the population that was being served by it will protest. If the Central Government Health Scheme is shut down, bureaucrats will rise in opposition; withdraw perks to Members of Parliament, and our lawmakers will object; cease cancelling the “revenues foregone” provision in the Budget and businesses will complain. Subsidies are bad, but only for other people, never for oneself.
If there are so many truths, half-truths and an overwhelming politically unacceptable truth, a meeting ground will always be hard to find.
Source: TH/ToI
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