THE RECENT FARM LAWS IN INDIA: RATIONALE, IMPLICATIONS AND WAY FORWARD

Indian Parliament has recently enacted three laws related to agricultural marketing (two laws and an amendment to an existing Act), which are popularly called the ‘Farm Laws’. The enactment of these laws led to largescale unrest and protests in some parts of the country, particularly the northwestern states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Several concerns have been raised, particularly related to continuance of the minimum support price, possible abolition of APMC markets and privatization of agriculture leading to corporate takeover of small farms. This essay is an attempt to find answers to some of these questions. The essay delves into the important aspects of these laws – the background and the rationale; the actual provisions (of these laws) & their implications; the main shortcomings and the needed improvements. The broad conclusion of the study is that the broad intent and content of the laws appear to be in the right direction but some serious flaws need to be corrected. Also, the laws need to be complemented with a set of structural reforms in agricultural support system and land markets to be really effective.

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