Fri Jan 31 06:36:48 UTC 2025: ## Farmers Brace for Another Blow as Union Budget 2025 Looms

**New Delhi, January 31, 2025** – With Union Budget 2025 on the horizon, farmers across India are bracing for another year of hardship, fearing the government’s policies will further exacerbate the ongoing agrarian crisis. Critics argue that the past ten budgets under Prime Minister Narendra Modi have disproportionately benefited corporations while neglecting the needs of farmers and agricultural workers.

A scathing analysis published today claims that the upcoming budget will likely continue this trend, citing significant cuts to food and fertilizer subsidies in the previous budget, as well as reduced allocations for agriculture. The analysis points to alarming statistics: 100,474 farmer suicides between 2015 and 2022 and India’s low ranking (105th out of 127) on the Global Hunger Index 2024.

The recently unveiled National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing (NPFAM) is seen as a further attempt to push pro-corporate policies, reminiscent of the controversial Farm Laws repealed after widespread protests in 2020-21. Farmers are already staging large-scale demonstrations against the NPFAM, demanding its immediate withdrawal.

The analysis outlines key demands from the farming community for Budget 2025:

* **Statutory Minimum Support Price (MSP):** Implementation of MSP at C2+50%, ensuring farmers receive a fair price for their produce.
* **Reduced Input Costs:** Lowering the prices of fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, diesel, water, and electricity.
* **Loan Waiver:** A complete one-time loan waiver for poor and middle-class farmers.
* **Comprehensive Crop Insurance:** Replacing the ineffective Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) with a robust scheme.
* **Investment in Irrigation and Power:** Increased public sector investment to improve infrastructure and lower costs.
* **Expansion of MGNREGA:** Increasing wages and work days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
* **Land Reforms:** Protecting farmers’ land rights and implementing the Forest Rights Act.

The analysis concludes that addressing the agrarian crisis requires significant resource allocation, advocating for wealth tax, inheritance tax, and reversing corporate tax cuts. Unless the government makes a radical shift in its approach, the analysis warns, farmers’ unrest will only intensify.

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