Discussion on The Farm Bill 2020

The Government of India came up with the new Farm Bill, which has been passed by both the houses of the parliament in September 2020 and now has been made into a Law. The bill comprises of 3 sub bills; Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill. ​ ​​Opposition parties called the bills and corporate-friendly and anti-farmer. They also implored the President Kovind to not sign the bills, alleging that they were passed "unconstitutionally" in "complete disregard" of parliamentary norms. The downside to this is, however, lies in the fact that over 86% of the country’s farmers are marginal farmers who own very little land. The possibility that huge corporations will go ahead and exploit the farmers through unbalanced contracts is high. These contracts include the dangers of turning farmers into slaves. ​People Interviewed for the discussion: ​1. Mr Adarsh Kumar (Former IAS officer) 2. Mr Ravideep Singh Chahar ( Civil Servant) 3. Dr Bijender Singh (Chairman of NAFID and former member of Parliament) (By Sanghmitra)