Following defeats in the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh elections and in the face of a growing agrarian unrest in the state, the Maharashtra government has decided to credit farmers’ money directly to their bank accounts on a monthly or yearly basis. State government officials said the amount could be anything from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 a year. Maharashtra is reeling under a Rs 4-lakh crore debt burden, which is rising exponentially every passing year. Maharashtra revenue minister Chandrakant Patil on Saturday mooted the idea of farmers depositing a specific amount, ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 with the government. The state would then add Rs 10,000 to this and give it back to the farmers at equated monthly instalments.

Source: Economic Times January 07, 2019 02:26 UTC