Doubling farmers' income

Doubts persist over NITI Aayog's grand plan

Doubling farmers’ income by 2022, the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, sounded almost utopian when Prime Minister Narendra Modi first talked about it shortly after assuming office. But the NITI Aayog has come up with an action plan, which includes, among other things, some basic agricultural sector reforms and amendments in marketing and land related laws — to make a good fist of this daunting task. A striking feature of the NITI Aayog’s road map is that it does not rely solely on old-school tactics such as pushing up farm production or hiking minimum support prices (MSPs). Such measures have