Abstract:-

The Government of India embarked on a series of reforms to transform the agricultural sector and set an ambitious target of doubling farmers’ income (DFI) by 2022-23. These reforms were intensified in recent years particularly to bring efficiency in the marketing of agricultural produce and provide direct income support to the farmers. However, repeated protests by farmers in a few states point towards their dissatisfaction and the ambitious goal of the Government of India to double farmers’ income is therefore widely contested. It also faces heat on account of glaring inter-state and intra-state disparities in agriculture development. Using the past three NSS Situation Assessment Surveys (SASs), viz. 2002-03, 2012-13 and 2018-19, this paper estimates the total net income of agricultural HHs at the state level to assess its proximity to the goal of DFI in a stipulated period of seven years (2015-16 to 2022-23). The detailed analysis undertaken as per the size of landholding and type of social groups can essentially serve as a pointer to gauge the increase in farmers’ total income over a longer period, draw lessons and suggest the direction of reform measures to achieve the target of DFI, if not reached and bring regional equity and inclusivity.