Subhash Chandra Garg- Economy, Finance and Fiscal Policy Strategist

LAND REFORMS IN INDIA DONE WITH AND THE UNFINISHED AGENDA SUBHASH CHANDRA GARG Economy, Finance and Fiscal Policy Strategy; Also, former Finance and Economic Affairs Secretary, Government of India Prime Minister, in his address to the nation, on 12 th May, spoke about reforms of land, labour, liquidity and laws. Finance Minister was to spell out specific reform proposals. She proposed three reforms- agriculture produce marketing law, essential commodities law and another law for quality assurance in agriculture produce. However, land reforms agenda has not been spelt out as yet. Total built up area- factories, roads, buildings- represent land used by non-agriculture economy. Based on satellite surveys carried out of the entire Indian land mass, total area occupied by buildings, land and railways, which covered all the built-up area was only 2.04 million hectares in 2010. It is less than 1% of the land mass of India. Agriculture Ministry reports about 25 million hect...

UNFINISHED AGENDA OF LAND REFORMS INDIA NEEDS ( Part II of my blog on Land Reforms in India) SUBHASH CHANDRA GARG (Economy, Finance and Fiscal Policy Strategist; Formerly Finance and Economic Affairs Secretary, Government of India) In this second part of the blog, I examine and propose the land reforms which India needs for higher growth, farmers’ welfare and greater employment. India Graduates Past an Agricultural Economy India of 2020 is radically different than India of 1950. Although agriculture and allied activities make up only 15% of GDP, India is self-sufficient in food production and most other agriculture produces. Too many workers (about 20 crores as farmers and landless labourers making a little less than 50% of total workforce) are still dependent on agriculture. They earn too little which makes rural India the poverty trap of India. There is no way such a large number of people can remain dependent on agriculture and India’s agriculture produc...