Topic– Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
3) What are the measures which can help reduce agrarian distress in the country. Discuss.(250 words)
Why this question
India is reeling under a protracted agrarian distress and the importance of agriculture in India’s society, economy and polity cannot be overstated. In this context it is important to discuss what measures should be taken to rescue India’s agriculture from the distressing situation it is in today.
Directive word
Discuss- this is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. we also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to write in detail about the measures required to alleviate agricultural distress in India. In our approach we should be as pragmatic and practical as possible.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about the agriculture and its importance in India. E.g mention the share of agriculture in total GDP and employment. Also mention that Agrarian distress, in the present context, is mainly in terms of low agricultural prices and, consequently, poor farm incomes.
Body-
Discuss in points as to what measures should be taken to help alleviate the agricultural distress in India. E.g
- Raising the MSP, price deficiency payments or income support schemes can only be a partial solution to the problem of providing remunerative returns to farmers.
- A sustainable solution is market reforms to enable better price discovery combined with long-term trade policies favourable to exports.
- The creation of a competitive, stable and unified national market is needed for farmers to get better prices.
- The next issue is the low productivity of Indian agriculture. Basics such as seeds, fertilizers, credit, land and water management and technology are important and should not be forgotten. Similarly, investment in infrastructure and research and development are needed.
- water-use efficiency can be improved significantly with better use of technologies that include drip irrigation.
- We need to have policies for land consolidation along with land development activities in order to tackle the challenge of the low average size of holdings etc.
Conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
