Prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, December 19, said that agricultural reforms undertaken by the government six months back have started benefiting farmers.
Addressing an Assocham event, PM Modi explained how the three farm laws against which several thousands of farmers are protesting for the last three weeks are a step towards making their lives better. The prime minister reiterated his government's commitment to the welfare of farmers and began his speech by saying that the laws in question have not been passed in Parliament in a hurry, adding that there have been decades of discussions over the same.
PM Modi slammed the opposition and debunked rumors around farm laws, accusing them of fabricating lies for their political benefit and said his government has repealed more than 1,500 archaic laws and is continuously making efforts to frame new legislations.
"From farmers to pharma, India has helped the world," he said, hailing the steps taken by his government to ease the lives of farmers and increase their income, and presented a number of statistics. PM Modi also mentioned organic farming and herbal products to cite some examples.
"Farmers of India can't be left behind while other countries are moving towards new technologies. Now, a lot of discussions are going on over farm laws. This should have been done long ago. And these have not been introduced overnight. Our farmers have been demanding this for decades. If today we see the past manifestoes of political parties, we will find the same promises," PM Modi said.
During his address at the event, the Prime Minister said the country has made up its mind to embrace the changes in various rules and regulations being made by his government to meet the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).
He asked the industry to help farmers sell their produce in global markets and invest more in this sphere. PM Modi also urged the industry to provide a global platform for farm products and added," Without us realising, foreign edible products make entry into our platter. On the other hand, our own farmers have very many produce which are rich in proteins".