Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considering three options for a relief package to help farmers suffering because of low crop prices at a cost of as much as Rs 3 trillion ($42.82 billion), according to three government sources.
The possibilities are a direct payment to all landowning farmers, compensation for those who sold produce below government prices, and a loan forgiveness program.
Modi aims to claw back support among 263 million farmers and their many millions of dependents after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost power earlier this month to the opposition Congress in three big heartland states. A general election has