Public expenditure is a crucial contributor to agricultural development. Government spending in the agricultural sector is necessary for ensuring food security and the welfare of rural households. There have been concerns about the levels of public spending on agriculture in India. Despite the importance of this sector, public spending as a share of agricultural output has been falling over the last few years.

The recently placed Interim Budget of the Central Government is yet another reflection of this trend. To illustrate, two major items of expenditure, fertiliser and food subsidies, have both continued to fall this year. Fertiliser subsidy was reduced from Rs 2.5 lakh crores (Actual Spending in 2022-23) to Rs 1.6 lakh crores in the current budget announcement. Similarly, food subsidies fell from Rs 2.7 lakh crores (Actual Spending in 2022-23) to Rs 2 lakh crores (Budget Estimate 2024-25).

What lies at the root of these trends? What are their implications for the different components of agricultural development in the country? How are they affecting the different sections of the farming populations?

Prof. R. Ramakumar discussed these questions in a conversation with Dr. Deepak Johnson at the online discussion hosted by the Foundation from 04:30 PM IST on February 20, 2024.

R. Ramakumar is Professor, School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. He is the lead author of the report published by the Foundation, which examined the trends in public spending on agriculture in India in the last decade. Deepak Johnson is a JSPS Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Japan.

The session ended with an engaging round of Q&A moderated by Deepak.

Here is a brief report of the session.