THE LOOMING CRISIS

A drought looms over half of India. Some 18 states are staring at a drought like situation in several districts. It has forced the Union government to announce a raft of relief measures for the farmers. But, clearly, more needs to be done.

1) Eight states have declared a drought till now

Source: IMD, Rajya Sabha replies, Department of Agriculture , Cooperation & Farmers Welfare

2) Nearly 272 of the 641 districts in the country, spread across 18 states, have witnessed deficient rainfall

3) The Union government is likely to roll out a substantial monetary package for farmers. It has been an annual feature recently

Already, the government has taken a number of steps to provide relief to farmers:

• Allocation of additional days of work under MGNREGA to households in drought affected areas
• Diesel Subsidy Scheme for farmers in affected areas
• Enhancement of ceiling on Seed subsidy
• Interventions for saving perennial horticulture crops
• Implementation of additional fodder development programme
• Flexible allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and other centrally sponsored schemes
• Crop contingency plan
• Availability of seeds and other inputs for kharif crop in 2015