Self-deception, Not Self-Reliance
Two forms of ‘Mann Ki Baath’ are being heard in the country. One is the anguished ‘Mann Ki Baath’ of farmers and migrant labourers. The other is the ‘Mann Ki Baath’ that resembles the speech of a primary school boy delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Farmers all across the country are hitting the streets and protesting. In Punjab, normal life has been thrown out of gear with continuous agitations and ‘rail rokos’. Mumbai has come to a standstill. In Karnataka, farmers’ organisations have observed a bandh on September 28. But people’s heartfelt anguish and their clarion calls for help are not reaching the government. Amidst protests, anti-farmer and anti-labour bills are getting approved.
In this situation, enacting a political drama in the state, the Opposition, especially, the Congress moved a no-confidence motion against the BJP government of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. Although it was clear that the Congress could not unseat the government, it is a mystery why the Congress came forward with such a move. Other than providing an occasion for a discussion on the provisions of various anti-farmer laws that the government wanted to push ahead, the Opposition did not gain anything out of this. It also resulted in the postponement by at least six months the attempts of some BJP rebel leaders to overthrow the state government and replace Yediyurappa. In a way, this no-confidence motion provided the much-needed temporary relief for Yediyurappa. Though conspiracies are being hatched within the party against him, the BJP high command does not seem to have the strength to unseat him at this juncture.
In the midst of farmers’ outrage and protests, the Prime Minister who is unveiling various Bills has stated that ‘farmers will play a major role in ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharath.’ If the farmers were to indeed play such a role, why is the government outrightly rejecting the farmers’ demands and enforcing laws that are anti-farmer in nature? There is no answer to this question in Prime Minister’s ‘Mann ki Baath’ . The present laws will push self-reliant farmers to the corporate whirlpool and destroy their self-confidence. The agriculture Bills that the Prime Minister has introduced for farmers are not in support of farmers becoming self-reliant or ‘Atmanirbhar.’ Instead these laws mark the highest form of self-deception.
It is said that the Centre’s three agriculture Bills would help farmers sell their produce in the open market without any hindrance. The government is also saying that these Bills would help the produce of farmers reach national and global markets by encouraging private investment in boosting basic infrastructure. It would enable farmers to sell their produce outside APMC and help them sell their produce at competitive prices. Ironically, cereals, crude oil, onions, potatoes and others have been kept out of the list of essential items. This means that these items are out of the scope of price regulation. Besides, excluding emergency situations, the limit on private institutions hoarding essential commodities for future sales has been removed. Farmers have been so far selling their produce to APMC through commission agents. But with the new law, commission agents and APMCs will lose their significance. Eventually, the practice of the government declaring minimum support price for farmers will end. The BJP assured in its 2014 Election Manifesto that it would increase the support price to 50 per cent of the cost of cultivation. But, it is ironical that the party has forgotten this promise after winning. Now, the possibility of implementing the government’s promise about providing minimum support price is also reduced.
The country’s economy has been destroyed with the complete failure of the various programmes of the government. But for a few big corporate players such as Adani and Ambani, the industry is facing a grim situation that might push several mid-level entrepreneurs towards suicide. In this backdrop, Prime Minister Modi’s lessons on self-reliance, ‘Atmanirbharatha’, in defence of his government’s policies is more like the proverbial last nail on the coffin of the country’s economy.
The decision to remove the limit on hoarding farm produce is beneficial to corporate giants who will then be free to control market prices as they wish. Though the government has stated that farmers can benefit from an unregulated open market, it has not made any distinction between big farmers and small farmers. It is not possible for small and marginal farmers to compete with big farmers in a free market. The government has started to corporatize the agriculture sector. As the farmers will be engaged in business in the open market, it will create problems in the country’s public distribution system, adversely affecting people’s right to food. Food grains have to be purchased from big corporate houses for public distribution at a higher price. It is therefore important that the present model of purchasing farmers’ produce and selling through APMC be reviewed and a situation created where farmers are provided appropriate support price as their right and not as an act of generosity. The government must show some gratitude to the farmers for their service to the nation by providing a minimum support price to their produce. If farmers have to participate in Modi’s ambitious goal of Atmanirbharatha or self-reliance, he should first understand the concept of self-reliance. Otherwise, ‘Mann Ki Baath’ will be reduced to ‘Monkey Baath’ and the economy would remain caught in a log-jam.
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India, US trade team to start three-day talks from Dec 10: Sources
New Delhi (PTI): India and the United States will commence three-day talks on the first phase of their proposed bilateral trade agreement here from December 10, sources said.
The visit is crucial as India and the US are working to finalise the first tranche of the pact.
"The three-day talks will start on December 10. It will conclude on December 12, and it is not a formal round of talks," said one of the sources.
The US team will be led by Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer.
This visit of the US officials marks their second trip since the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff and an additional 25 per cent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market due to the purchase of Russian crude oil.
On September 16, the US officials last visited India.
On September 22, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also led an official delegation to the US for trade talks. Goyal had also visited Washington in May.
While the USA's chief negotiator for the pact is Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, the Indian side is led by Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Darpan Jain.
The talks are also important as Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has recently stated that India is hopeful of reaching a framework trade deal with the US this year itself, which should address the tariff issue to the benefit of Indian exporters.
While noting that the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) will take time, Agrawal has added that India is engaged in protracted negotiations with the US on a framework trade deal that will address the reciprocal tariff challenge faced by Indian exporters.
India and the US are having two parallel negotiations -- one on a framework trade deal to address tariffs and another on a comprehensive trade deal.
In February, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate an agreement.
It was planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall of 2025. So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held. The agreement aims to more than double bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030, from the current USD 191 billion.
The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports).
The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent of its imports, and 10.73 per cent of its total merchandise trade.
According to exporters, the agreement is important as India's merchandise exports to the US declined for the second consecutive month in October, falling by 8.58 per cent to USD 6.3 billion due to the hefty tariffs imposed by Washington.
