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With a view to bring about transparency in the funding of political parties, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Arun Jaitely while presenting the General Budget 2017-18said that the political party could receive maximum donation up to Rs. 2,000 in cash from one person. The Finance Minister Mr Jaitley proposed that banks will issue Electoral Bonds to enable donations to political parties.

He said that the political parties would be entitled to receive donations by cheque or digital mode from their donors. Every political party will have to file its Income-Tax Return within the prescribed time limit, he added.

In a significant step to cleanse the system of funding of political parties, Mr Jaitley said that donations to political parties can soon be made by purchasing electoral bonds from authorized banks. The Finance Minister said that the Government will soon frame a Scheme in this regard and an amendment is being proposed to the Reserve Bank of India Act to enable the issuance of electoral bonds. He said that a donor could purchase bonds from authorised banks against cheque and digital payments only. These bonds shall be redeemable in the designated account of a registered political party within the prescribed time limit from issuance of bond, he added.

The Finance Minister said that these steps have been proposed as the political funding for elections couldn’t become transparent though attempts were made to cleanse the system. Despite amendment to the Representation of Peoples’ Act, the Companies Act and the Income Tax Act to incentivise political donations by individuals, partnership firms, HUFs and companies, political parties continue to receive most of their funds through anonymous donations which are shown in cash. He said that the situation has only marginally improved since the provisions were introduced, such as granting exemption from payment of tax to both the donor and the donee, provided a list of donors is maintained, who had contributed more than Rs. 20,000.”

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There were many firsts to this year’s Union Budget. This was the first combined Budget that included the railways. Also, the Budget was tabled on the first day of February instead of the last.The general and railways budgets were being presented separately since 1944 on the last working day of February.

 Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2017-18, in Parliament said that India was now in a position to synergize the investments in railways, roads, waterways and civil aviation. For 2017-18, the total capital and development expenditure on Railways has been pegged at Rs. 1,31,000 crore. This includes Rs. 55,000 crore provided by the Government, the Finance Minister added.

The Finance Minister said that, the Railways will focus on four major areas, namely, passenger safety, capital and development works, cleanliness and finance and accounting reforms. For passenger safety, a `Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh’ would be created with a corpus of Rs.1 lakh crore over a period of 5 years, to be funded by seed capital from the Government, Railways’ own revenues and other sources. Further, the Government will lay down clear cut guidelines and timeline for implementing various safety works to be funded from this ‘Kosh’. Unmanned level crossings on Broad Gauge lines will be eliminated by 2020. Expert international assistance will be harnessed to improve safety preparedness and maintenance practices.

Talking about the proposed steps for modernization and upgradation of identified corridors, Mr Jaitley said that Railway lines of 3,500 kms will be commissioned in 2017-18, as against 2,800 kms in 2016-17 and steps will be taken to launch dedicated trains for tourism and pilgrimage. In the next 3 years, the throughput is proposed to be enhanced by 10%. Further, the Minister added that Railways have set-up joint ventures with 9 State Governments and 70 projects have been identified for construction and development.

Regarding station redevelopment, the Finance Minister said that at least 25 stations are expected to be awarded during 2017-18 for redevelopment and 500 stations will be made differently- abled friendly by providing lifts and escalators. It is also proposed to feed about 7,000 stations with solar power in the medium term, of which, a beginning has already been made in 300 stations. Works will be taken-up for 2,000 railway stations as part of 1000 MW solar mission, the Minister added.

Emphasizing the Government’s focus on `Swachh Rail’, the Finance Minister said that a series of steps are proposed to be taken to enhance cleanliness in Railways, of which, an SMS based  `Clean My Coach service’ has already been started. It is now proposed to introduce the `Coach Mitra facility’, a single window interface to register all coach related complaints and requirements. Further, the Finance Minister said that by 2019, all coaches of Indian Railways will be fitted with bio-toilets.  Pilot plants for environment friendly disposal of solid waste and conversion of biodegradable waste to energy are being set-up at New Delhi and Jaipur Railway Stations and five more such Solid waste management plants are now being taken-up.

The Finance Minister, in his Budget Speech, also gave details about proposed steps to be taken by the Government to help Railways stay competitive vis-a-vis other modes of transportation dominated by the private sector and retain their position of pre-eminence.

A new Metro Rail Policy will be announced with focus on innovative models of implementation and financing, as well as standardization and indigenization of hardware and software. This will open-up new job opportunities for our youth.  A new Metro Rail Act will be enacted by rationalizing the existing laws. This will facilitate greater private participation and investment in construction and operation, he added.”

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India has reacted cautiously a day after Pakistan’s Interior Ministry ordered placing the Jamaat-ud-Dawa andthe Falah-e-Insaniyet Foundation Hafiz Saeed, the architect of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, under house arrest. New Delhi  has said that more needs to be done by Islamabad if it wants to prove its commitment to fighting terrorism.
“”Exercises such as yesterday’s orders against Hafiz Saeed and others have been carried out by Pakistan in the past also. Only a credible crack down on the mastermind of the Mumbai terrorist attack and terrorist organizations involved in cross border terrorism would be proof of Pakistan’s sincerity,”” a statement from the External Affairs Ministry said.

“”India has long maintained that the UN Security Council 1267 provisions pertaining to listing and proscription of known terrorist entities and individuals must be effectively and sincerely enforced by all member states. We have also consistently called the bringing known terrorists under the ambit of the 1267 sanctions,”” the statement said.
It said that New Delhi has noted that Hafiz Saeed and four others have been placed under preventive detention.

The detention of Hafiz Saeed in Lahore came after the US administration of President Donald Trump has clamped down with visa restrictions at at countries deemed linked to terrorism. Apprehension of similar action against Pakistan could have been a factor in the action against Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, security analysts say.”

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In a sign that does not augur well for the labour in the organised sector, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while presenting his budget proposals for the fiscal 2017-18 on Wednesday announced that legislative reforms will be undertaken to `Simplify, Rationalize and Amalgamate’ the existing Labour Laws.

Mr.  Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2017-18 in Parliament said that the Government is keen on fostering a `conducive’ labour environment wherein labour rights are protected and harmonious labour relations lead to higher productivity. Legislative reforms will be undertaken to simplify, rationalize and amalgamate the existing labour laws into 4 Codes on (i) wages; (ii) industrial relations; (iii) social security and welfare; and (iv) safety and working conditions.

The Finance Minister further said that the Model Shops and Establishment Bill 2016 has been circulated to all States for consideration and adoption. This would open-up additional avenues for employment of women. The amendment made to the Payment of Wages Act, is another initiative of our Government for the benefit of the labour and ease of doing business.

The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was quick to read the writing on the wall. D.L. Sachadev, Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in a statement issued here lamented that the Union budget does not provide for employment generation. He said that the central trade unions to meet soon to decide the action programme against `anti worker’ provisions of the budget.

The sign of nervousness among the trade unions is understandable in recent months the Union Government through gazette notifications effected several changes to the Acts passed by Parliament adversely impacting the labour interests.

This is the backdrop to the statement, issued here hours after the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget for 2017-2018, by the AITUC leader. He contended that in the name of easy doing business, the budget presented by the Finance Minister of India has given more tax concessions to the corporate world by reducing the tax rates while totally inadequate relief has been given to small and medium scale industries which provide and create employment.

According to him the social allocation for health and education has also not been increased. There is a nominal increase of a few hundred crores for jobs under MNREGA. No compensation has been given for loss of jobs and wages to the people who have suffered due to demonetisation. The scheme workers have also not been provided any relief. Listing of PSUs in the stock market and further liberalization of FDI is also against national interest. The Finance Minister has unusually mentioned passing of labour law related codes which do not fall under his domain.

Mr. Sachdeva said that the Central Trade Unions will meet soon to decide the action programme against anti worker provisions of the budget.”

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Traders, who have traditionally been a loyal constituency of the Sangh Parivar in general and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in particular, are gaga over the Union Budget 2017-18 presented by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley going by the generous words of a well known traders lobby Confederation though immediately it is not clear as to what are the reasons for their elevation.

B.C. Bhartiya, the National President and Praveen Khandelwal, the Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday described the Union budget is a progressive document which lays fundamental for the future.

In a statement, they said, “the budget is a progressive document whose working round the year will culminate into dividend in next year Budget  since it is expected that implementation of GST in this fiscal will add sizeable number of tax payers in the Country giving leverage to the Government to reduce Bank lending rates and bringing down Income Tax slabs considerably-said the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). Reduction of corporate Tax to 25% for turnover upto Rs. 50 cr will boost SME and small businesses in the Country. Lending target under Pradhanmantri Mudra Yojna has been doubled and set at Rs.2.44 lakh crores which will result in financial inclusion of last mile trader and in turn will consolidate the retail market. 

The joint statement maintained that announcement for creation a Payments Regulatory Board in the Reserve Bank of India by replacing the existing Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems will boost digital payment landscape in the Country. However, transaction charges are major deterrent in adoption of digital payments and it was hoped that Government will subsidise such charges directly to the Banks. Model Shops and Establishment Bill will create new business avenues to small retailers particularly job opportunities for the women.

According to them, however, security and safety aspects needs to be considered by the State Governments to open up additional opportunities. Reduction in limit of cash expenditure of Rs.10 thousand will prove to be counter productive and will stall smooth business activities.”

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The government has prepared an action plan to eliminate Kala-Azar and Filariasis by 2017, Leprosy by 2018 and Measles by 2020. Elimination of tuberculosis by 2025 is also targeted. Similarly, action plan has been prepared to reduce Infant Mortality Rate from 39 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 28 by 2019 and Maternal Mortality Ratio from 167 per 100,000 live births in 2011-13 to 100 by 2018-2020. Also, 1.5 lakh Health Sub Centres will be transformed into Health and Wellness Centres.

The Finance Minister Mr Jaitley in his Budget speech said that to strengthen secondary and tertiary levels of health care, adequate availability of specialist doctors was needed. “We have, therefore, decided to take steps to create additional 5,000 Post Graduate seats per annum. In addition, steps will be taken to roll-out DNB courses in big District Hospitals; strengthen PG teaching in select ESI and Municipal Corporation Hospitals; and encourage reputed Private Hospitals to start DNB courses. The Central Government will work with the State Governments to take these tasks forward. The Government is committed to take necessary steps for structural transformation of the Regulatory framework of Medical Education and Practice in India’’ he added.

Two new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will be set-up in Jharkhand and Gujarat.

The Budget also proposes to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules to ensure availability of drugs at reasonable prices and promote use of generic medicines. New rules for regulating medical devices will also be formulated. These rules will be internationally harmonised and attract investment into this sector. This will reduce the cost of such devices.

Education:

In the higher education sector, the government will undertake reforms in the University Grants Commission. Good quality institutions would be enabled to have greater administrative and academic autonomy. In his Budget Speech, the Finance Minister said that the colleges will be identified based on accreditation and ranking, and given autonomous status. A revised framework will be put in place for outcome based accreditation and credit based programmes.

He also proposed to introduce a system of measuring annual learning outcome in the schools. He said that emphasis would be given on science education and flexibility in curriculum to promote creativity through local innovative content. Similarly, he proposed to create innovative fund for secondary education for ensuring universal access, gender parity and quality improvement. This will include ICT enabled learning, transformation and the focus will be on 3,479 educationally backward blocks.

The government proposes to establish a National Testing Agency as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organization to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions. This would free CBSE, AICTE and other premier institutions from these administrative responsibilities so that they can focus more on academics.

Women and Child:

The government has said that Mahila Shakti Kendra will be set-up at village level with an allocation of Rs. 500 crores in 14 lakh ICDS Anganwadi Centres. This will provide one stop convergent support services for empowering rural women with opportunities for skill development, employment, digital literacy, health and nutrition. Under nationwide scheme for financial assistance to pregnant women Rs. 6,000 each will be transferred directly to the bank accounts of pregnant women who undergo institutional delivery and vaccinate their children.

For the welfare of women and children under various schemes across all the Ministries the allocation has been stepped-up from Rs.1,56,528 crore in BE 2016-17 to Rs. 1,84,632 crore in 2017-18.”

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Presenting the first Union Budget combined with Railways budget for 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the agenda of the NDA government for the next year is to Transform, Energise and Clean India- TEC India. He said TEC India seeks to transform the quality of the governance and quality of life of people, energise various sections of the society and clean the country from the evils of corruption, black money and non-transparent political funding.
In order to foster this agenda, the Finance Minister presented budget under 10 themes on doubling farmers income, rural employment and infrastructure, energising youth, care for poor and underprivileged, infrastructure, stable financial sector, digital economy, effective public service and prudent fiscal management and tax administration.
Mr. Jaitley said, the overall approach of the budget has been to spend more in rural areas, infrastructure and poverty elevation and yet maintain fiscal prudence. He announced major hike in allocations for ministries of agriculture, drinking water and sanitation, health and family welfare, new and renewable energy, rural development, skill development and Water resources for their various schemes.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the General Budget will accelerate development and it has addressed the aspirations of all. He said Finance Minister has presented an excellent budget devoted to well-being of the villages, farmers, poor and the youth. Mr Modi said the aim of the Government is to double the income of farmers. He said special emphasis has been given on women empowerment and added that the Housing sector will immensely gain from the Budget. He also said the merger of the Railway Budget with the general budget will give an impetus to the transport sector’s growth. In his reaction to the Budget, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said the Budget lacks vision and there is nothing in it for farmers. Mr Gandhi said his party support moves for curbing corruption in political funding.Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu hailed the budget as path breaking, saying that a new era has begun.Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the Budget is pro rich and pro corporates. On political funding limit in the Budget, Mr Kharge said his party believes in transparency. BJD leader B Mahtab said the rosy picture portrayed by the government may not be achieved due to lack of growth and the manner in which manufacturing sector growth is coming down. NCP leader Tariq Anwar said there is nothing new in the General Budget and it is not as per expectations.”

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Under fire from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for its dismal track record of human rights in the Naxal-affected Bastar region, the Chhattisgarh government has announced setting up of a district-level Human Rights Protection Committee to be headed by the Collector.

This decision comes just a day after the government asked the DIG (Baster Range) S.P.Kalluri to proceed on medical leave following large scale allegations against him of “harassing and threatening’’ journalists, human rights activists and academics.

The Chhattisgarh government has come up with an Action Plan for the protection of human rights, including those of journalists and academics.

The Commission, taking suo motu cognizance of the reported allegations, had observed on the 16th November, 2016 that it was deeply disturbed by the state of affairs in Chhattisgarh over last one year or more. In response, the Chhattisgarh government informed the Commission that they had prepared a six point Action Plan to ensure that human rights are adequately protected in Bastar. As an urgent measure, the State Government has given standing instructions to the Special DGP/Additional DGP (Naxal Operations) to immediately recommend action to the Additional DGP (CID) in a case of gross violation of human rights wherein the action is found to be slow, lacking or inadequate at lower levels. 

The other measures include organizing training and orientation of the police force posted in Bastar Division to sensitizes them on the human rights issues and to ensure that human rights are not violated in the course of their duties;All police officers will ensure that human rights are not violated in the course of their work, be it in Naxal affected areas or elsewhere. Human rights violations will invite consequences. They would also be responsible for ensuring compliance among other police personnel under their command.There will be a clear, separate entry in the Annual Performance Assessment of All Indian Police Services and State Police Service Officers about their performance on human rights issues; and a district level Human Rights Protection Committee headed by a District Magistrate/Collector has been constituted in each of the seven Naxal affected districts of Bastar to receive complaints on human rights issues and to make suggestions to the State Government for taking necessary action. This committee comprises six district level administrative, police, law officers and two- three eminent citizens;A State Human Rights Protection Committee has been constituted under Secretary, General Administration Department. This will consider only those cases which has been not been disposed off at the district level or where the complainant is not satisfy with the action by the Districts Committee. This committee comprises seven senior level administrative, police, law officers and two-three eminent citizens/NGO representatives”

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Even though Union Finance minsiter Arun Jaitley presented a futuristic budget on February 1 by focussing on the poor, farmers and the middle class, it has failed to enthuse BJP activists. This is particularly so with regard to the most crucial poll bound state of Uttar Pradesh where voting will be held in seven phases. The disappointment pertains to the budget not having anything to enthuse the voters.

The Election Commission of India had specifically urged the BJP led NDA government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to announce any concessions for the five states going to the polls from today, the fourth of February. Apart from UP the other states where assembly elections are being held are Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. The results will be announced on March 11. 

Lotus party leaders believe the budget exercise was aimed at ensuring Modi gets elected for a second term two years hence in the 2019 general elections. It is apparent they are jittery about the prospects of the BJP in UP in the light of the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s SP having reached an agreement with the Congress which has managed a good deal of 105 seats for itself. The remaining 298 in the 403-member state assembly will be contested by the SP.

The patriarch of the regional party Mulayam Singh Yadav has said he will not be campaigning for the SP as he was not in favour of having a truck with the Congress. Simultaneously, Shivpal Singh Yadav, the sulking brother of ‘Netaji’ as Mulyam Singh is known is trying to create confusion by talking about floating his own party after the assembly elections are over.

At the same time SP sources are categoric that there is no rift between father and son despite the bitter feud and upheaval in the SP to take control of the party. Now that Akhilesh has been backed by a significant majority of the legislators as well by the youthful supporters in the state, his pre-eminence as the chief ministerial candidate for a second term in Lucknow has been established. He has subsequently been anointed the national president of the SP.

Given these fast paced developments in UP, the BJP has to once again bank on the charisma of Modi to pull the chestnuts out of the fire in Uttar Pradesh. Whether Modi retains that magic evidenced in the 2014 elections remains to be seen though he has a busy schedule ahead criss crossing UP addressing rallies.

A Prime Minister’s honeymoon ususally lasts 30 to 36 months and Modi has already completed 32 months. People have borne with fortitude the multitude problems arising from the bold November eighth demonetisation. However, their patience is now running thin having been tested for far too long.

The nervousness in the BJP ranks in UP is palpable. This is reflected with the names of three of its sidelined leaders — Murli Manohar Joshi, Varun Gandhi and Vinay Katiyar — being included in the list of campaigners for the second and third phases. The party has suddenly woken up to Joshi being a prominent Brahmin leader and wants to exploit his impact on the community.

Varun has kept himself away from campaigning in UP. Sources said he wanted to be projected as the chief ministerial nominee and now party strategists want to minimise the damage he can cause the party. Katiyar a backward class leader in the forefront of the Ram Temple movement has been ignored for many years. 

Winning UP is critical for the saffron brigade as that will set the stage for the 2019 general elections. The BJP is still smarting from its defeat in the Bihar assembly elections in 2015 considered a battleground state in the Hindi heartland. Meanwhile, Punjab, an important state bordering Pakistan, and Goa are having a one-day poll on February 4. The campaign ended in both the states on Thursday. 

The stakes are indeed high in Punjab for the SAD-BJP combine, the Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi party which appears to have regained lost ground in the last few months. One wonders if political pundits, psephologists and others are able to grasp the mood of the electorate this time. The last time in 2012 everyone fell flat on their face. A three cornered contest is unusual in Punjab. While the Congress has old war horse in Capt Amarinder Singh spearheading its campaign, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal remains the chief ministerial face of the Akalis for the sixth time. Its a high stakes battle which can go to the wire despite the angst against the SAD.”

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How ironical it is to be caught up in the vicious circle of growing, cultivating and harvesting of crops and to find the only escape from this in suicide. Giving life to a seed in fields at times culminates with taking your own life. The India shining story with much urbanization and smart cities often leaves out the story of dirty muddy fragmented fields far behind. To bring out this story we shall present the case of innumerable farmers of India who live (or choose not to) in ever mounting debts. The story of distressed farmers who find answers to their debt-related problems in suicide.

In two decades up to year 2014 there were over 3 lakh farmer suicides in India. In 2014, the country recorded 12,360 farmer suicides. In 2015, that number went up to 12,602. To break it down for a better understanding it means on an average over 1000 farmer suicides per month. That is, around 35 farmers committing suicide every day. At least one farmer ending his life every hour in this country. Appalled? Wait, that’s just the official data we are talking about. The real numbers are higher. There are many more farmer suicides unreported or misreported in the earnest effort from the government to keep the numbers low. To hush up the issue and to make believe that it isn’t all that bad at the ground-level.

However, it is that bad. Or in fact worse. Denial of the magnitude of the problem is dismissal. Persistent farmer suicides has become a growing problem. A problem that is not getting its due attention in the past several budgets. The numbers are rising but so is the awareness now. The government’s dismissal is out in the open and thus in the past several years there have been many columns, journals, articles and books written about farmer suicides. With the incoming Budget of 2017-18 the same is expected now.Though, clearly that’s not quite enough. Still, there seems no respite. And no real relief for farmers through the way of budgetary allocations. The crisis is deepening and the suicide numbers alarming. Through this story we aim to bring out the reasons for farmer suicides, the steps taken by the government so far and the days ahead for farmers in India.

Reasons for Suicides by Farmers

The most well-known and often spoken about reason for farmer suicides is crop failure due to lack of monsoon rains. For instance, years 2014 and 2015 were drought years. According to a study titled ‘Relative contribution of monsoon precipitation and pumping to changes in groundwater storage India’, which was published in the journal Nature Geoscience last month groundwater withdrawals in the country have increased over tenfold in six decades. “The monsoons in North India, from June to September, have declined in intensity and duration since 1950, leading to more frequent and intense droughts.” The severe drought experienced by farmers result in farming woes and much lesser crop produce. While, this is definitely an important reason it is not the only significant one. There have been years with good monsoon rains and excellent crop produce witnessing suicides.

Farmers have been killing themselves in years of excellent crop produce just as in years of crop failure. Clearly, there is more to it than just monsoon.

The rising input costs, ever since the green revolution happened, have adversely affected the cultivators. A 100 to 500 per cent increase in prices of agricultural inputs like high-yield variety seeds, fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides and labor costs have made it almost impossible for farmers to make ends meet. The water-use patterns, hyper-commercialization, and severe price shocks and price volatility break the farmers.

Growing crops year after year on the same piece of land without the use of fertilizers and pesticides has become difficult. The yield per hectare has gone down. And the added costs have been forcing farmers to take credit. With limited institutional avenues to take credit from, farmers end up in the clutches of moneylenders and sahukars who lend at exorbitant rates of interest. In some cases the interest rates are as high as 45%.

The steps taken

To bring relief to farmers there is not much the government has done in terms of execution. The schemes like Pradhan Mantri FasalBimaYojana, Pradhan Mantri Krishi SinchayeeYojana, organic farming, self-sufficiency in pulses and oilseeds, national agriculture market (eNAM), mobile app, and disaster relief are all there aiming to double the income of farmers in the next five years. But they work best on paper alone. When put to practice each one of them fail to bring relief to the farmer. The middlemen and commission agents end up profiting from the government sanctioned credit schemes and compensations instead.

However, the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief (ADWDR) scheme of 2008-09 did its bit to acknowledge the crisis. It provided for full waiver on all ‘eligible loans’ overdue on December 31, 2007, for marginal (holding up to one hectare) and small (holding between one to two hectares) farmers, and a one-time settlement scheme for farmers holding more than two hectares of land under which a rebate of 25% was given against the payment of the balance 75% of the loan before June 30, 2009. This deadline was extended by a year because of the failed monsoon season in 2009-10. A total of Rs 52,500crores were released for the scheme, with about 192.59 lakh farmers reported to have benefitted from it.

These and some other measures like soil health cards, direct benefit transfer scheme, etc. have tried to address the farmer’s issues. But, the fact remains that much more needs to be done.

In the Time to Come

To put the best foot forward the government needs to start acknowledging the intensity of agrarian crisis. The fact that so many farmers take the extreme step cannot be concealed. Some research and analysis of past several years reveal a certain trend. It brings out that farmers growing cash crops are the most affected. That is the growers of cotton, sugar cane, groundnut, vanilla, coffee, pepper and others.  Fewer suicides occur amongst growers of paddy or wheat. Similarly, farmers coming from seven states namely Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu are more prone to take the extreme step in comparison to farmers hailing from other states.

Also, marginal and small farmers comprise of over 72% of the total farm suicides. And then, there is another category of ‘agricultural laborers’ with no landholding that is committing suicide. In states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, West Bengal which in the past reported ‘zero’ farm suicides have actually left out the agricultural labourers and women farmers who work in the fields. This brings us to the point wherein we should be able to define a farmer. Also, better and timely compensation from the government if provided will go a long way in helping the farmer. A bigger and wider coverage for provisioning of loans through institutional mechanisms like NABARD will also bring relief. However, focus shouldn’t be on credit and loan rather steps should be taken to increase the income, productivity and prosperity of farmers. The putting in check of the middlemen and private moneylenders should be emphasized upon and the policies should be executed in letter and spirit. The push for reforms in agriculture marketing and more funds for irrigation and insurance schemes announced in this year’s budget will only help if it all reaches down to the lowest level. If not, the irony of farmers committing suicides will continue to haunt this nation.”