No road map to double farm income: HD Deve Gowda in Rajya Sabha

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda has said that reduction in the budgetary allocation for the agriculture sector has disappointed many.

Participating on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, he said the allocation for agriculture in 2022-23 reduced by 3.8 per cent as compared to the last fiscal.

• Also read: President Address failed to give blueprint for nation’s future: Congress

“India’s economy is based on agriculture that involves 50 per cent of the workforce of the country and contributes 70 per cent to the GDP,” Deve Gowda noted.

He further said the President’s Address was bereft of a road map to double farmers’ income.

“Despite all odds such as climate change, flood, drought and declining groundwater level, farmers of the country produced 305 million tonnes of foodgrain and 320 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables in 2020-21 with an average growth of 2.3 per cent,” he said.

“The lack of commitment towards the agriculture sector as reflected in the President’s Address is disappointing,” Deve Gowda said.

The former PM noted that if the country had to progress economically, the agriculture sector must be given priority. The Janata Dal (Secular) president also referred to the reduction in budgetary allocation for the MGNREGA. “This is contrary to the goal of rural development,” he added.

Shah requests Owaisi to accept ‘Z’ cover

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday urged AIMIM chief Asaddudin Owaisi to reconsider his decision not to accept the ‘Z’ security cover being provided by the government in light of the review of threat to him after his car was attacked in western UP. “I request Owaisi to reconsider his decision and accept the security cover and make us anxiety-free,” he said in the Rajya Sabha. TNS

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