In poll run-up, Modi government to announce a string of incentives for farmers

Considering Congress’s farm loan waivers to be a temporary solution to the agrarian crisis, Modi government is expected to announce a “big decision” in the next Budget session that will impact farmer prosperity, sources say.

This could be interest-free loans, input subsidy and input credit to farmers. Kisan Morcha national president Virendra Singh Mast says the Modi government is committed to its promise of doubling of farmers’ income by 2022.

The BJP will reach out to farmers through a two-day convention of its farmers’ wing, to be held in Uttar Pradesh. Members from panchayat level to national level will congregate at Gorakhpur on February 23 and 24. Party president Amit Shah will address the gathering on the inaugural day, along with Mast, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address it on the concluding day.

The convention is seen as a move to lure the massive vote bank ahead of the general polls. “It will lay emphasis on the series of historic decisions the BJP government has taken for the development of rural economies, the agriculture sector and farmers,” says Mast. 

The members will then pledge to bring PM Modi back for a second term, sources said.

Mast added that Wing has requested the Centre to implement more schemes, and the government will accommodate these suggestions in the upcoming Budget.

“This is the first government, since Independence, to allocate a whopping 52 per cent of the annual budget for policies meant for rural development and the agriculture sector,” he added.