Cabinet may announce relief package for farmers before interim budget; plan includes waiving premium for crop insurance

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is expected to soon approve a relief package for farmers grappling with falling prices of their crops and to tackle distress in the farm sector, according to sources. The likely relief package is seen as an attempt to assuage the farming community’s discontent ahead of the general elections. “… The agriculture ministry’s proposal on addressing income deficit syndrome of small and marginal farmers is on the agenda (of the Cabinet meeting),” a source said. Meanwhile, the Cabinet meeting, which was scheduled for Monday, has been deferred, as per sources. [caption id=“attachment_5313551” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] The agriculture ministry has recommended several options to provide both short- and long-term solutions to address agrarian distress. However, a final call will be taken at the Cabinet meeting as a huge cost is involved, they said. One of the options proposed is waiving interest on crop loans for farmers who pay on time, costing an additional Rs 15,000 crore to the exchequer. There is also a proposal to completely waive premium for taking insurance policy for food crops. The Centre is also evaluating the scheme followed by the Telangana and Odisha governments wherein a fixed amount is transferred directly into the bank account of farmers, the sources further said. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh had recently indicated that the government would announce an agriculture package before the 2019-20 budget. The NDA government will present an interim budget on 1 February. Experts said the government has less time to implement any new scheme. The measure has to be such that it can be implemented faster to reap the political gains during the elections. It may be noted that the central government has taken farmers’ issues seriously after the ruling BJP was defeated in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in the recent state polls, where rural distress was a key factor. Farmers are in distress owing to a fall in the prices of most crops in view of bumper crop. Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2019-20 here     To keep watching India’s No. 1 English Business News Channel – CNBC-TV18, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family Pack (inclusive of 24 channels), available for Rs. 35/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 4/- per day. To keep watching the Leader in Global Market & Business News – CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family HD Pack (inclusive of 25 channels), available for Rs. 50/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 1/- per day.