Farmers have received ‘raw deal’ in Budget: Cong

New Delhi: The Congress claimed on Tuesday that India’s farmers have received a “raw deal” in the Union Budget, and said the demand for a legal status for MSP has been met with a “stony silence”, as has the demand for a farm loan waiver.

In the Union Budget for 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an allocation of Rs 1.52 lakh crore for the agriculture and allied sectors. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said India’s farmers received a “raw deal” in the Union Budget. “The Agriculture and Allied Budget – which affects a majority of the country’s population – is only 3.15% of the total Budget, down from 5.44% in 2019-2020.

This is after a year of bad monsoons dragged down agricultural growth from 4.7% in 2022-23 to 1.4% in 2023-24, necessitating greater government support for the sector,” he said. The finance minister boasted of an increase in the MSP for crops earlier this year but the prices are still significantly below what the Swaminathan Commission Formula recommended, Ramesh said. “The demand for legal status for MSP has been met with stony silence – as has the demand for a farm loan waiver,” the Congress leader said in a post on ‘X’. The government on Tuesday announced 3 schemes to boost employment through retirement fund body EPFO for new entrants in the organised sector with a total central outlay of Rs 1.07 lakh crore.

In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Our government will implement 3 schemes for ‘Employment Linked Incentive’, as part of the Prime Minister’s package.” These will be based on enrolment in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, and focus on recognition of first-time employees, and support to employees and employers, she said. For the first-timers, she told the House that Scheme-A will provide one-month wage to all persons newly entering the workforce in all formal sectors.

The direct benefit transfer of one-month salary in 3 instalments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO, will be up to Rs 15,000. The eligibility limit will be a salary of Rs 1 lakh per month. The scheme is expected to benefit 210 lakh youth. The Scheme-B for job creation in manufacturing will incentivize additional employment in the manufacturing sector, linked to the employment of first-time employees. An incentive will be provided at specified scale directly both to the employee and the employer with respect to their EPFO contribution in the first 4 years of employment, she stated. The scheme is expected to benefit 30 lakh youth entering employment, and their employers.