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The credit outgo to small farmers seeking loans of less than Rs. 25,000 is decreasing. This has serious implications for production also, as the borrowing capacity of the small and marginal farmers (who cultivate 40 per cent of the land) is not likely to be more than Rs. 25,000 each. The Reserve Bank of India should ensure that commercial banks adhere to the existing provision of 10 per cent loans to the weaker sections and that the marginal and small farmers are adequately represented within this limit. Also, these farmers should get their due share in the issue of Kisan Credit Cards. (Dr. V.S. Vyas is a member of the PMEC)
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NOTE: i. Continuous decline in the share in amount of small Agri. loans (Rs.25,000 and less) from 59% in 1990 to 10% in 2008.
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| Year |
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2003 |
2006 |
2008 |
| Share in Agri credit % |
49.60 |
58.70 |
52.00 |
23.60 |
13.30 |
10 |
|
About 80% Small and marginal farmers own 40% of land but small loans account for on 10% of the total agri advances.
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ii) yet, share of Agri advances of Rs.1 Crore and above increased by 5 times ( 500%)
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Amount of agri loans (Rs.in Crores) (Accounts ,000s)
|
| Agri Loans |
M2006 Accounts |
M2008Accounts |
M2006 Amount |
M2008 Amount |
| *Small loans up to Rs 25,000 |
178,00 |
196,20 |
22,979 |
27,987 |
| Loans One crore and above |
7 |
10.4 |
50.969 |
73,331 |
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| Undernutrition ‘a matter of national shame’ P.M |
According to India’s third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) of 2005-06, 20 per cent of Indian children under five-years-old are wasted due to acute undernutrition and 48 per cent are stunted due to chronic undernutrition. Seventy per cent of children between six months and 59 months are anaemic. Despite a booming economy, nutrition deprivation among India’s children remains widespread.
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In absolute numbers, an average 25 million children are wasted and 61 million are stunted. The state of child undernutrition in India is — first and foremost — a major threat to the survival, growth, and development and of great importance for India as a global player. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has referred to undernutrition as ‘a matter of national shame.’ |
The prevalence is higher in rural areas than in urban centres, and varies from state to state. Malnutrition, translating into underweight children, is lower in a state such as Kerala, than in states such as Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
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| What is the cause of food inflation? |
After saying the price rise is not because of ‘aggregate excess demand', the chief economic advisor adds, ‘increased disposable income …. due to NREGA could be one factor as the rural population would generally spend the bulk of their income on food. Good intervention some times may have not-so-good effects.' ( Business Line, Dec 21).
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‘TECH FATIGUE'-Low Productivity
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Growth rate of productivity in rice and wheat was only 0.95 per cent and 0.87 per year during 1991-2005 compared to 3.28 per cent and 2.82 per cent between 1981 and 1990.
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There are no indications that farm incomes are increasing in a sustained manner. A farmer will make more profits if all the government spending means he will get a higher yield from his piece of land and a better price for his produce. |
| PULSES PRODUCTION STAGNANT |
India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses. Production last crop year (2008-09) was 14.7 million tonnes (little changed from previous years), and imports during the fiscal were an estimated 2.8 million tonnes. |
Last year, Madhaya Pradesh led the country with 36 lakh hectares of land under pulses cultivation, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 19 lakh hectares, Maharashtra and Orissa with about 13 lakh hectares and Rajastan with about 11.5 lakh hectares. |
| There is wide difference between the farmgate price and retail price because of supply chain inefficiencies. |
| Dip in per capita availability of foodgrains |
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Shorn of government food stocks and other factors, since 2002-03, per capita availability of foodgrains (cereals and pulses) will have dipped to a projected 185 kg on 2009, from around 200 kg in the two previous years (which themselves were pretty much the 2003-04 level). But this is only part of the story. India’s consumption has increased not just due to an increase in the population, but also in terms of income. Incomes have increased, growth impulses diffused from a few growth centres into the hinterland, demand for proteins and vegetables grown. |
Foodgrains availability, measured using GDP, has halved, almost secularly, from 7.7 grammes per rupee in 2003-04 to a projected 3.7 grammes in 2009-10. The higher elasticity of food expenditures to incomes going down the income ladder is likely to have led to higher spends on food for the additional incomes as well. |
Sugar Mills profited most from the sugar price rise
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Operating profit margins for the sugar mills averaged nearly 17.5 per cent for 2005-09, up from 15.4 per cent in the 2000-2004 period. The margin lift came mainly from savings in other manufacturing expenses, which were down by 2 percentage points, even as raw material costs as a proportion of sales remained the same. |
| Delay in 327 state projects cost Rs.54,717 cr |
At least 327 of the 598 central government-sponsored projects have been delayed, resulting in an additional burden of Rs.54,717 crore to the exchequer.
The cost of these projects was revised from Rs.543,649 crore to Rs.598,366 crore, resulting in an additional spending of Rs.54,717 crore. 17 Dec 2009, ET |
| Woefully Inadequate Warehouse Facilities |
*Our existing warehousing facility has a capacity of only 1.5 million tonnes. But the produce of agricultural commodities alone is 230-240 mt. We also need cold storage facilities for processed and perishable goods. We need to do an assessment of the warehousing facilities and increase the warehousing capacity many fold.” |
| Need to improve efficiencies of surface water systems |
surface water systems can be improved from the present level of 35-40 per cent to about 60 per cent and that of groundwater systems from the existing 65 per cent to about 75 per cent,” Dr Singh said in his inaugural address at the 5th Asian Regional Conference on ‘Improvement in Efficiency of Irrigation Projects through Technology Upgradation and Better Operation & Maintenance' here on 10th Dec. |
