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In a post on X, the finance ministry also shared that Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Finance Secretary and Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Tuhin Kanta Pandey and Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs Ajay Seth also attended the meeting.
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman chairs the second Pre-Budget Consultation with various farmer associations and leading agricultural economists in connection with the forthcoming Union Budget 2025-26, in New Delhi, today.
The meeting was also… pic.twitter.com/P0KNicbLm3— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) December 7, 2024
Earlier on December 6, the finance minister met economists to seek their views on the Union Budget for 2025–26. Economists suggested the government develop an industrial policy to boost manufacturing and relax the fiscal consolidation roadmap in the budget for the next fiscal year.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Swadeshi Jagran Manch National Co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said economists suggested the government ways to increase investment and also gave suggestions to control food inflation and deal with climate change.
Meanwhile, FM Sitharaman’s team’s meeting with farmer organisations comes at a time when scores of farmers are protesting at the borders of Delhi demanding the provision for legal backing to minimum support price (MSP) of agricultural produce and the enactment of a law to this effect in the current Winter Session of Parliament.
Protesters also want the government to ensure at least a 50% profit margin and waive their debts, as well as to honour a promise to double their incomes.
Last evening, protesting farmers suspended their foot march to Delhi for the day after a few of them suffered injuries due to teargas shells lobbed by security personnel, a Punjab farmer leader told PTI.
Separately, the Reserve Bank of India has increased the collateral-free agricultural loan limit from ₹1.6 lakh to ₹2 lakh per borrower. The decision is aimed at enhancing credit access for farmers without requiring security, addressing the needs of small and marginal farmers.
Governor Shaktikanta Das’ announcement came just after the Q2 GDP data was released. While the overall economy of India slowed sharply to the slowest in nearly two years in the July to September quarter, agriculture was one of the silver linings. The gross domestic product of the farm sector grew faster at 3.5% in those three months, compared to 2% in the preceding quarter.
First Published: Dec 7, 2024 1:21 PM IST
