On February 28, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that by the time India celebrated its 75th Independence Day in 2022, farmers’ income would have doubled. This ambitious plan has since become an oft repeated target, just like the government’s other missions like open defecation free India. Five years have passed and the government reiterates time and again that it’s working towards doubling of farmer’s income by 2022-23. Amid extreme rural distress, experts have time and again called this plan unrealistic. The government had earlier said that the new farm laws will help it achieve the target. While that is debatable, the laws are currently on hold. Does the absence of a current status in this year’s budget or the government’s next plan of action on this indicate that it was mere sloganeering and that the target is not an achievable one?
Share this article