Give Reforms a Chance

The Indian Express     28th October 2020     Save    
QEP Pocket Notes

Context:  Central farm bills provides states an opportunity to liberate the farmer from archaic systems.

States powers in matters of agriculture:

  • Power to legislate on a State list: States can take actions to address issues related to agriculture since it is a subject on the State list.
  • Article 254 of the Constitution: Using the provisions of this article, the Punjab government has passed its own bills to nullify some provisions of the central acts.
  • Judicial Remedy: Petitions have been filed in supreme court claiming that the central laws infringe upon the jurisdiction of state governments 

Arguments favouring Centre’s intervention in Agriculture:

  • Centre decides and announces the support prices: for major crops, for the entire country and also takes the decision on issues like bank loan waivers.
  • Obligation to international agreements: and multilateral trade in agricultural products under the Union government’s domain.
  • Agricultural produce had a prominent role in refraining India to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
  • Constitutional limitation on states: Entry 33 in the concurrent list empowers both governments to legislate on production, trade and supply of a range of agricultural foodstuffs and raw material. 
  • Sarkaria Commission had opined on the Union government to use Entry 33.

Significance of Centre’s Agri-reforms:

  • Farmer Centric: 
  • Freedom for farmers from the archaic provisions of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)  Act and EC Act and removes the middlemen system
      • Continuation of the safety net of Minimum Support Price (MSP).
  • Farmers can get the benefits of demand-led prices.
  • Opportunity for the states: to increase investment in private infrastructure to create supply chains and ensure greater farmer participation through farmer producer organizations.

Conclusion: The Centre’s reforms are certainly the 1991 moment for Indian agriculture which will liberate the Indian farmer as no other action of government has done in the last five decades.

QEP Pocket Notes