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The budget for the financial year 2010-11 aims to revive the agriculture sector that registered a negative growth last year due to drought and failed monsoon. Presenting the budget on February 26, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said agriculture was central to promoting inclusive growth, enhancing rural income and improving food security. To this end he proposed a four-pronged strategy: increase agricultural production, reduce wastage, increase credit to farmers and promote food processing.
Stress on synthetic fertilizers
A closer scrutiny indicates the attempt to revive agriculture is half-hearted.
(Growth in the sector declined from 5.2 per cent in 2005-2006 to -0.2 per cent in 2009-2010.) For instance, the budget has allocated Rs 400 crore for extending the Green Revolution to eastern states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa and eastern Uttar Pradesh. “The amount allocated works out to less than Rs 100 per person,” said Praveen Jha, economic adviser with the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, a think tank in Delhi.
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