ZCZC
BCN-22
INDIA-BUDGET-ECONOMY
India announces $10.5 billion farmer income scheme ahead of elections
NEW DELHI, Feb 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – India’s government announced Friday a
$10.5-billion scheme to help crisis-hit farmers, seeking to boost support
ahead of a tough re-election bid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Thousands of farmers hit by low produce prices, crippling debt repayments
and volatile weather have killed themselves in recent years. This and rising
joblessness have hit Modi’s popularity.
The new scheme, part of the current government’s last interim budget
before the election, will give 120 million “small and marginal” farmers
direct annual handouts of around 6,000 rupees ($85).
“This amount will be transferred directly to bank accounts of farmers in
three equal instalments,” Piyush Goyal, interim finance minister, told a
raucous session of parliament in New Delhi.
The programme will be fully funded by the central government, Goyal said.
The crisis in Indian agriculture and rising joblessness are emerging as
key factors ahead of the elections due by May, when Modi will run for a
second term.
On Thursday the Business Standard published what it said was an official
report buried by Modi’s government showing unemployment at a 45-year high.
Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power
in a landslide in 2014, promising to create millions of jobs.
BSS/AFP/HR/1410