Suspense Crime Sach Ka Dam
Budget 2025: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a meeting with farmer representatives and agricultural stakeholders on Saturday as part of the pre-budget meetings. During this, the farmers urged the government to provide cheap long-term loans, implement low taxes, and double the PM-Kisan income support. Various proposals were discussed in detail in the meeting for two hours. During this, solutions to many challenges in the agriculture sector like financial relief, market reforms, and strategic investment were considered.
Demand for GST exemption
Ajay Vir Jakhar, chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj, stressed the need for targeted interventions to boost agricultural productivity and farmer welfare. The main demands of the farmers included a reduction of interest rate on agricultural loans to one percent and an increase in annual PM-KISAN installment from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000. The stakeholders also demanded GST exemption on agricultural machinery, fertilizers, seeds, and medicines under the taxation reform proposals. The PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry requested a reduction of GST on pesticides from 18 percent to five percent.
This demand was also made.
Jakhar proposed a targeted investment strategy of Rs 1,000 crore annually for eight years to focus on specific crops like chickpeas, and soybeans mustard to increase national agricultural productivity. Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Dharmendra Malik demanded a comprehensive review of the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism. He said the MSP calculation should include land rent, farm wages, and post-harvest expenses. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary and senior officials of the finance and agriculture ministries also attended the meeting.
