Lifting rural productivity

Govt does well to abjure populism in Budget

Contrary to conjecture, the Union Budget for 2017-18 has not made any populist pro-farmer announcement to influence rural voters in the on-going elections in five states. It has also, per se, not sought to compensate them for the ill-effects of demonetisation and the recent sharp slump in agricultural prices with more subsidies or other fiscal doles. Instead, it has chosen the more judicious path of strengthening the rural economy through well-judged measures to lift farm productivity, raise farmers’ income and generate more employment in rural areas. For this, the total allocation for the agro-rural sector has been hiked by the