Farm reforms pending in India since 1991: EAC-PM chief Bibek Debroy
Farm reforms in India are pending even today since 1991, while neighbouring China implemented them way back in 1978, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Chairman Bibek Debroy said on Friday.
The reforms undertaken in India in 1991 were pertaining to external factors and industrial liberalisation, and were not related to agriculture, he said.
Currently, agriculture has become unviable and even its share of the country's GDP is declining by 1 per cent per year even as a large percentage of the population is still dependent on this sector for their livelihood, he added.
"Quite often in India, we compare with China. In 1978-79, China reformed agriculture. We are told that reforms in India were implemented in 1991 and pertain to the external sector and industrial liberalisation. Have the reforms in agriculture been introduced? Has agriculture been subjected to "de-licensing"? The answer is no," Debroy said in an agri-summit event organised by Businessline here.
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