(With Syngenta Foundation)
The project attempts to determine how subsidies in Indian agriculture can be made more efficient and cost effective, which in turn will ensure food security and sustainable development. Most of the OECD countries and emerging economies support agriculture either to ensure food security and/or to enhance the income level of farmers. India is no exception. It subsidizes inputs like fertilizer, power, irrigation and credit etc. while Minimum Support Price (MSP) policy is prevalent on output front. However, there are large inefficiencies in the manner in which current support is being provided to farmers through input and output prices. Here, we focus on ways to rationalize input subsidy levels and make them more efficient and farmer-friendly.
There are two main objectives in this project. The first objective is to estimate the magnitude of public resources going towards agriculture. These include agricultural input subsidies like fertilizer, power, irrigation, credit and insurance and investment ‘in and for’ agriculture, like expenditures on canals, roads, education and agriculture R&D. The second objective is to estimate the marginal returns from subsidies and investments on rural poverty and agricultural growth.
Book / Working Papers:
Supporting Indian Farms the Smart Way
Rationalising Fertiliser Subsidy in India: Key Issues and Policy Options
Credit Policy for Agriculture in India – An Evaluation
SEMINAR & CONFERENCES:
Release of the book Supporting Indian Farms the Smart Way
Date: September 18, 2018
Place: New Delhi
Venue: Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road
Seminar on Supporting Indian Farms the Smart Way: Rationalizing Subsidies and Investments for Faster, Inclusive and Sustainable Growth
Date: April 19, 2016
Place: New Delhi
Venue: Magnolia Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road
Policy Workshop on Fertilizer Subsidy and Credit Subsidy
Date: April 19, 2016
Place: New Delhi
Venue: Maple Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road
Media Articles:
Gulati, Ashok (May 9, 2016): “Drop by Careful Drop”, The Indian Express (http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/marathwada-water-problem-drought-india-from-plate-to-plough-drop-by-careful-drop-2790806/). Also published under the title “Caring for Water: Incentivise farmers to save and liberalize import of water guzzling crops” in The Financial Express (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/column-caring-for-water/250953/)
Gulati, Ashok (April 25, 2016): “The Big Thirst”, The Indian Express (http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/maharashtra-drought-marathwada-water-scarcity-jal-doot-trains-latur-2768637/). Also published under the title “Maharashtra’s water woes” in The Financial Express (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/column-maharashtras-water-woes/242303/)
Gulati, Ashok and Prerna Terway (February 1, 2016): “How to expand inclusion”, The Indian Express (http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/how-to-expand-financial-inclusion/) Also published under the title “Bolstering financial inclusion” in The Financial Express (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/column-from-plate-to-plough-bolstering-financial-inclusion/204978/)
Gulati, Ashok (January 18, 2016): “A Harvest-time Gift”, The Indian Express (http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/narendra-modi-crop-insurance-sysytem-nda-governmenta-harvest-time-gift/) Also published under the title “PM’s Gift to Farmers” in The Financial Express (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/column-from-plate-to-plough-pms-gift-to-farmers/196602/)
Gulati, Ashok (December 21, 2015): “The fertiliser challenge”, The Indian Express(http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/from-plate-to-plough-the-fertiliser-challenge/)
Gulati, Ashok and Prerna Terway (November 09, 2015): “India shining, Bharat whining”, The Financial Express. (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/column-india-shining-bharat-whining/163148/)
Gulati, Ashok (July 04, 2015): “Drones and doves”, The Indian Express. (http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/drones-and-doves/)
Gulati, Ashok and Prerna Terway (July 06, 2015): “How we can insure our farmers from extreme weather risks”, The Financial Express. (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/column-tech-the-farm-insurance-route/95487/)
Gulati, Ashok (May 11, 2015): “Padyatras, politics, policies” The Indian Express (http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/from-plate-to-plough-padyatras-politics-policies/) Also published as “Padyatras, politics and policies” in The Financial Express (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/column-padyatra-politics-and-policies/71212/)
Gulati, Ashok (Dec 11, 2014): “A fertile mess”. The Indian Express. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/a-fertile-mess/. Also published under the title “Unshackling the fertilizer sector” in The Financial Express.( http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/column-unshackling-the-fertiliser-sector/17818/)
Gulati, Ashok and Pritha Banerjee (October 28, 2014): “Taming the 3Fs”. The Financial Express. http://www.financialexpress.com/article/markets/column-taming-the-3fs/2351/
Media Coverage:
Editorial: Harvesting credit (June 18, 2015) in The Financial Express (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/harvesting-credit/86633/)
Think Tank reports hints at diversion of cheap farm loans (June 23, 2015) in The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/think-tank-report-hints-at-diversion-of-cheap-farm-loans/article7343483.ece)
Editorial: Fixing Fertilisers (August 11, 2015) in The Financial Express (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/editorial-fixing-fertilisers/117118/)