Union Budget 2024-25 for Corporatisation of Agriculture | Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Jul 24, 2024)

Samyukt Kisan Morcha

Press Note issued in the virtual press conference

24th July 2024, New Delhi

Union Budget 2024-25 for Corporatisation of Agriculture

Call for Burning Copies of the Budget in Villages

Widest Unity of Farmers, Workers, Youth- Need of the Hour

Appeals State Governments and Political Parties to fight policy of Power Centralisation in Agriculture, Cooperation to Seize the Rights of States

No MSP@C2+50%, No Minimum Wage, No Wage Hike in MGNREGS

Cut in Fertiliser Subsidy, taking 1 crore Farmers to Natural Farming will Jeopardise Food Security

No Recruitment in 30 lakh vacancies in Government and Public Sector

No Comprehensive Loan Waiver to Farmers and Workers, But 5% Tax Reduction to MNC’s and No Tax on Corporates

SKM Opposes National Cooperation Policy, Demands Abolition of Union Ministry of Cooperation

Budget Detrimental for Education, Health, Employment and Price Control

Revival of Agriculture and Small Production is the Solution for Unemployment, Farmers Suicide and Distress Migration

SKM strongly criticised the Union Budget 2024-25 placed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on 23rd July 2024 in the Parliament for its ardent direction of corporatisation of agriculture at the cost of farmers and workers and usurping the rights of State Governments thus violating the basic concept of Federal Character of the Constitution of India.

The Budget prepared under the duress of International Finance Capital has declared a tax exemption of 5% for MNC’s and not ready to tax the Corporates and Super Rich while 67% of the GST collected as indirect tax is from 50% of the poor population. There is no tax increase on Corporate Companies and any wealth tax and inheritance tax thus clearly revealing its anti-farmer, anti-worker class bias. This is not acceptable to the farmers of the country.

The Budget has neglected the long pending genuine demands of the farmers for MSP@C2+50% with guaranteed procurement. The Finance Minister said in the Budget speech ‘for Annadata, the Government had announced higher Minimum Support Price a month ago for all major crops, delivering on the promise of at least a 50 per cent margin over costs’ is untrue. The promise was @C2+50% and the current MSP is @A2+FL+50%. SKM demands the Finance Minister to clear this fact to the people through a White Paper on MSP thus uphold the transparency and propriety in governance.

Even though the RBI has transferred Rs.2, 10,874 crore as surplus to the Union Govt. for the accounting year 2023-24, the Budget has cruelly neglected the long pending demand of comprehensive Loan Waiver to Farmers and Workers though as per the official records 31 farmers are committing suicide daily in India. The Union Government had given 14.46 lakh crore debt waivers to corporate houses during the last ten years and is currently processing another 10.2 lakh crore through Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Out of the 48.25 lakh estimate of the Union Budget 2024-25 only Rs. 1, 51, 851 crore or mere 3.15% is the share of Agriculture and allied sector. The share of this sector has declined during the past Budgets as 5.44% in the year 2019-20, 5.08% in 2020-21, 4.26% in 2021-22 and 3.23% in 2022-23. The Budget did not repeal GST on farm inputs including seed, fertiliser, machineries, spare parts and tractor thus helping the farmers to reduce the cost of production. This is the attitude of the Modi Government towards this important sector that sustains 45.76 % of the work force and 58 % of the population. SKM has demanded a separate Budget for Agriculture and Rural Development with adequate share of the Union Budget.

The Budget ignored one of the most important demands of replacing the failed PMFBY and NDRF with an insurance scheme in the Public Sector and also provides interest free credit to farmers despite crop failures increasing in natural calamities due to Global warming.

The decision of taking 1 crore landed farmers out of 9.3 crore to natural farming is detrimental to increasing agricultural production and will create a food crisis. The cut in fertiliser subsidy has raised the cost of production and it will destroy the food security of the country paving way for immense social calamity in future as experienced by countries like Sri Lanka.

The announcements of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture to register land and crops and the National Cooperation Policy are aimed at encroaching the rights of the State Governments since agriculture, land and cooperation are the State subjects as per the Constitution of India. SKM stands for upholding the Constitutional provision of Cooperation as the State Subject and strongly demands to abolish the Union Ministry of Cooperation formed in 2019.

The long term objective of the Budget is promoting contract framing under the direct control of the Corporates and MNCs. The ICAR signed Memorandum of Agreements with MNC’s including Bayer and Syngenta working in agribusiness and Research and Development sectors and the Finance Minister declaring to provide fund to private sector for promotion of R&D are part of efforts to implement the Black Farm Acts through the rear doors.

SKM had demanded the Union Government to amend the GST Act and reinstate the right to taxation of the State Governments thus upholding the principle of Strong States: Strong Union of India. The negation of the right of the States for taxation and then practicing discrimination in fixing the share of allocation to the States has become a serious matter of political concern. The BJP and NDA are pitching the fund starving States against each other and appeasing certain States with irrational allocations to sustain in power, is ruinous and dangerous and in the long run will injure the national unity and cohesiveness of sustaining in a federal structure respecting the diversity of various nationalities that constitute India.

SKM demands all the State Governments and all the political parties to take firm and clear positions on these serious issues and rally against the Modi Govt. demanding change in the policy of centralisation of power ensures taxation rights of the States, thus protecting the interests of the people and the country.

The Budget did not reflect the demands like minimum wage of Rs.26000 per month for workers that can support the 90% of the workforce in the unorganised sector, recruitment in the existing 30 lakh plus vacancies in the Public Sector as well as Govt. Sector and wage hike to Rs.600 per day and minimum work of 200 days under NREGA. In fact, instead of making the allocation for MNREGS doubled, it has been reduced. The demand for linking MGNREGS with watershed planning and agricultural development is neglected. The wrong policy on MSP and MNREGA reveals that the Modi Govt. has no sincerity to revive agriculture and small production to end farmers’ suicide, distress migration and the acute crisis of unemployment.

SKM strongly condemned the silence of the Finance Minister in her Budget speech about the serious issue of loss of crop and life due to the wild life menace. The crop wise demands such as clearing arrear of Sugar Cane farmers, declaring Price Stabilisation Fund and support price of Rs. 250 per kilo for Rubber farmers, 100% import duty on Apple, market protection for Onion, Potato and vegetable farmers, extending NREGA towards Dairy and Animal Husbandry sector, Market Price for Cattle and end stray cattle menace to crops and human life etc. also are not addressed in the Budget.

SKM strongly condemns the negative attitude of the Budget on Education, Health, Employment and Price Control. The Govt. is not ready to repeal the 4 Labour Codes and reintroduce the Old Pension Scheme. The trumpeted schemes of skill development and one month salary in the private sector are inadequate and only reflect the abdication of the Union Government from addressing the task of acute unemployment issue.

SKM appeals for widest unity of all sections including farmers, workers, women, youth, students etc. as the need of the hour and all the people have to rally and build massive struggles across India to force the Modi Govt. to change the corporate policies and protect the interests of the people.

SKM appeals to the farmers across India to conduct widespread campaigns and protest across India in the villages and burn the copies of this anti-people pro-corporate Budget. The details of the mode and date of campaign and protest will be decided by the respective State Coordination Committees of the SKM.

With regards,

Media Cell | Samyukt Kisan Morcha - Contact: 9869401565 | 9830052766
samyuktkisanmorcha[at]gmail.com