Previous governments ignored demands for MSP hike: Modi
Midnapore (West Bengal), July 16 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said previous governments had failed to hike the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of crops despite farmers' demands and expert panels' recommendations.
"The demand for raising the MSP was placed before every government. Many commissions and committees were formed. But every time it was stalled. Files kept on piling," said the Prime Minister.
"The farmers went on demanding and agitating... but neither the state governments nor those in power in Delhi heard them. After BJP came to power, we have decided to provide MSP at one-and-a-half times of the input costs," Modi told a rally here.
"The hike would empower farmers of West Bengal as well," the Prime Minister said.
The centre recently approved an MSP, providing farmers a profit of 50 per cent or more over "cost of production" for Kharif crops for 2018-19.
"My government is your government and it is a pro-farmer government," he told the famers.
Based on the Costs and Prices (CACP)-fixed input cost, the MSP for paddy was increased by Rs 200 (50.09 per cent) to Rs 1,750 per quintal, while for 'Grade A' paddy, it went up by Rs 180 (51.8 per cent) to Rs 1,770 per quintal.
The Centre also hiked the MSP by 50 per cent for groundnut at Rs 4,890 per quintal, for moong at 6,975 per quintal, for sunflower Rs 5,388 per quintal, for soybean at Rs 3,399 per quintal, for sesame at Rs 6,249 per quintal and for Niger seed at Rs 5,877 per quintal.
He said the MSP for raw jute has also been increased by Rs 200 a quintal for this year.
"When we came to power in 2014, the raw jute price was less than Rs 2,000 a quintal. Now, the same has been increased by over Rs 1,700 a quintal over the last four years. Bengal's jute farmers are benefitted by the increased price," Modi said.
Reiterating Centre's commitment to farmers, Modi said his government was working to double farmers' income by 2022.
Refering to his government's decision to consider bamboo as a grass, Modi said farmers could now produce, cut and sell bamboo, which previously had to be imported.
"Previous governments regarded bamboo as a tree. So, the country's peasants and tribals had no right to cut or sell bamboo. We had to spend thousands of crores on its import. Today, our peasants can produce bamboo on their land, and sell it. Our decision has greatly benefitted the farmers," he said.
Modi said agriculture markets have been integrated through e-NAM (electronic National Agriculture Market), enabling farmers to sell their produce after taking price information on their mobile phones.
"We are working to upgrade around 22,000 gramin haats (rural markets) with requisite infrastructure," he said. "I hope West Bengal will take steps towards reforming the agriculture market," he said.
Criticising the West Bengal government for not setting up a robust cold chain supply, he said the Centre took up the project Operation Greens laying priority on tomato, onions and potato.
Modi also said fishermen could be empowered with "Blue Revolution".
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
