A watershed moment in Indian agriculture history

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the passing of the farm Bills and described it as a watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture.

The two Bills -- Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 -- were passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The House also rejected the demand of several Opposition parties to send the two Bills to a Rajya Sabha Select Committee for greater scrutiny. "These (farm) Bills will ensure complete transformation of the agriculture sector and empower crores of farmers," the Prime Minister said in a series of tweets.

He added that farmers for decades were bound by constraints and bullied by middlemen and the bills passed by the Parliament would liberate them.

"These (farm) Bills will add impetus to efforts to double the income of farmers and ensure them greater prosperity.

The agriculture sector is in desperate need of the latest technology and now farmers will have easier access that will boost production," Modi said.

In another tweet, he said that he was reiterating it again that the system of minimum support price (MSP) and government procurement would continue.

"We are here to serve our farmers and will ensure a better life for their coming generations," Modi wrote in a tweet after Parliament passed the farm Bills.