Expanding Economic Activities

The tural economy of India has continuously been supporting and contributing to the growth parameters of the country. More so, as india paves its way towards rapid urbanisation, the rural economy continues to play a pivotal role as the prime mover towards the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with the bulk of the population ying in rural belts, parameters including the growth, income, and consumption trends of these residents hold the key to boost demand, reve the economy and sustain economic growth According to the Economic Survey 2020 2021, the share of agriculture in gross domestic product (GDP) has reached almost 20 percent for the first time in the last 17 years, making it a bright spot in GDP performance. The resilience of the farming community in the face of adversities, especially

the ongoing COVID-1 pandemic, made agriculture the only sector to have clocked a positive growth 3.4 percent of constant prices in 2020-21, when other sectors had slid. The share of agriculture in GDP increased to 19.5 percent in 2020-21 from 178 percent in 2010-20 The last time the contribution of the agriculture sector in GDP was at 20 percent was in 2003-04. The second wave of the pandemic sweeping across the country has hit the rural areas. However, the forecast of a normal mansoon is expected to sustain rural demand and overall output in 2021-22. The has noted that the record foodgrain productice and buffer stocks in 2020-21 has provided food security and support to other sectors of the economy in the tonn of rural demand, employment and agricultural inputs and supplies, including for exports. The Ministry of Finance, in its recent monthly economic report has echoed the Har's ww it said agriculture continues to be the silver lining with record foodgrain production estimated in the ensuing crop year on the back of predicted normal momsoons and added that rural demand indicators would remain robust. Overall, the government has been optimistic that the rural economy will withstand the onslaught of the pandemic

The big picture that emerges according to latest estimates is that the government has set the foodgrain production target at 307.3 million tonnes for the 2021-22 crop year, up by 1.3 percent from last year's estimated foodgrain production of 3033 million tones and there is comfort level regarding the availability of farm inputs including seeds and fertiliser. Another important aspect, the production of horticulture crops in india has been estimated at a record 320.48 milion metric tonnes (MMT) in FY20 as per second advance estimates Besides, India has the largest livestock population of around 535.7 million, which translates to around 31 percent of the world's Milk production in the country set to increase to 200 MT in F21 from 158 MT in FY20, registering growth of 10 percent y-o-y inda's sugar production rose by 20 percent to 258 68 lakh tonne til March 15 on higher cane production. Last year 87.16 lakh tonne sugar was produced compered to 84.25 lak tanne so far this year Overall, the agriculture and allied activities clocked a growth of 1.4 percent at constant prices during 2020-21 (first advance estimate) says the latest Economic Survey The agri export from India is likely to reach the target of USS 60 billige by the year 2022 as major export destinations of USA, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Nepal and Bangladesh have continued to receive their share of marine products, rice, buffalo meat, spices, cotton ra, o me, suge castor oil and tes from ind

Road Ahead-Need To Expand Economic
Activities:

Against this backdrop, let's have a set look at the sector from an analytical and theoretical point of view. Farming is the fabric of rural society and, in many countries of the world today it s is the key economic activity, so much to that any sudden and profound changes which impact the farm sector could have severe consequences even in terms of social and political stability rural areas throughout the world, agriculture represents

the predominant land use and amor component of the viability of rural areas. Farming and related activities contribute significantly to the employment and business apportunities, frastructure and quity of the environment in the rural landscape in most economically developed countries, farming accounts for a relatively small part of a diversified nural economy and as addition the significance of agriculture in terms of the proportion of national wealth and employment is going down. However, this does not lessen the potential role of farming despite the fact that the contribution of economic activities to rural development in different countries vary in developing countries, rural development policies shoot look at the contribution of farming. both in termit of improving on farm activites and supporting ancillary services to secure sustainabi development. The main potential contributions of farming to rural development are in terms of supporting employment, ancillary businesses and environmental services in peripheral regions, farining may be necessary to support the economic and social infrastructure in the context of agricultural reforms, it should contain sufficient flexibility to low countries to promote rural development, especially to preserve social and political stability.

As of now, Indie is gearing up to touch the target of doutring farm income by 2022 The agriculture sector which is expected to generate better momentum in the next few years is mainly due tu increased investment related infrastructure such as irrigation facilities, warehousing and cold storage. Also, the growing se of genetically modified crops as lisely to boost yield for the farmers as the country launches itself on the road to self-sufficiency especially in pulses over the coming few years mainly due to the concerted effort of scientists to get early maturing crop varumes and the increase minimum support price Going forward, same initiatives include the adoption of food safety and quality assurance mechanisms such as Total Quality Management (TOM) including 150 9000 SO 22000, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Hygenic Practices (CHP) by the food processing industry will help increase the critical mass of agriculture production in the next five years, the government will target USS 9ion in the fisheries sector under PM Matiya Sampada jane and is also planning to raise fish production to 220 lakh tonnes by 2024-25

As indio aims for the US 35-trillion economy status by 2024-25, it needs to grow at 9 percent per year in real terms from FY20 to FY25 Rural revitalisation is a promising first step for achieving this economic target as well as being self-reliant or AtmaNirbhar Rural revitalisation requires a transformative approach that envisions making rural area better place to live and work. The government has taken several steps to boost rural economic growth and make it more sustainable in the long run. Some of them are as follows the Mural infrastructure Fund has been increased 40,000 crore, the amount for Micro Irrigation Fund created with NABARD doubled to Rs. 10,000 crore for 2021-2022: Operation Breen Scheme has been widened to 22 perishable products; and 1,000 reare mandis are being linked with e-NAM, Alone with the necessary reforms, the government his also planned a production linked incentive (PL) of about Rs. 11,000 crore, which the industry can avail. The scheme aims to strengthen select Indian brands of food products for glohal visibility and wider acceptance in international markets, ensure remunerative prices of farm produce and higher income to farmers, and increase employment opportunities. Its duration will be for six years from 2021-22 to 2026-27. Under the Operation treens scheme, 50 percent subsidy is being provided on transportation of all fruits and vegetables through Kisan Rail, as it has become a powerful medium of cold storage network in the country today The Risan Rail is succeeding in connecting small farmers and fishermen with large and high demand markets in the last souths, about 275 Kisan Rais have been operationalised and about 100,000 metric tonnes of fruits and vegetables have been tramported henelitting the consumers and the industry Going forward, there is a need to expand the country's agriculture and related sectors while integrating them into the global market. Besides, the 100,000 oed micro food processing units in the country need to be strengthened and so is the need to increase the number of agro-industry clusters near the villages to help beatt slag employment.

Thereofagriculture will continue to betheley for achieving food security, increasing income and gonerating employment opportunities. However, there is a need to promote modern agriculture that is driven by technology and markets. Growth in rural areas should be driven by agro-based industrialisation, which may gradually shift to the non-farm sector, it will require investment in post- harvest rural activities, such as agro-processing packaging, cold chains, cold storage and transport it will also require creating an enabling and favourable regulatory environment to stimulate private sector investment in rural areas. A strong linkage between farm and non-farm sectors reeds to be developed for augmenting income and creating jobs in rural areas. Farm-sector driven industrialisation may be evolved from production to processing and marketing. Such a linkage will help the farm sector to produce market-driven commodities, reduce transportation costs, receive remunerative prices at farm gain, and misimise farm waste. Amul is an excelent example of tarm- led processing, branding and marketing of milk for various dairy products. Such a model should a be replicatest for other agricultural commodities in different parts of the country Collectising farmers through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) would offset disadvantages for small and marginal farmers and rate bargaining powers to enhance their incomes Another important aspect is the role of the Micro Smail & Medium Enterprises (MSME) This will be very critical in developing rural industrialisation as their share in national gross value added is about 32 percent and they provide employment to about 111 mon workers with a share of MSME-related products in exports at about 48 percent during 2018-19, the government is proring to increase their contribution to 75 percent and in the gross value added to 50 percent. It projects to generate jobs for about 150 million workers. Such overwhelming targets will require huge investment to create necessary infrastructure: effective institutions for enabling MSMEs to have access to technologies, finance and markets, and vocational education and skill development in manufacturing and business planning. Thus, the role of rural-urban linkages will be a key driver in rural transformation. It is seen that strengthening rural-urtian linkages, from farms to small towns to megacities, will benefit rural labour, production, distribution markets, services consumption, environmental sustainability and the new market opportunities thus created will promote local, regional and storage etc and affers critical tools for improving global chains access to technologies, services and finance ICT

Next, the concept of provision of Urban tools could be used for effective governance Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) needs to be relooked here it calls for urban infrastructure and services to be developed in rural huts to creat economic opportunities outside of urban areas. These include better mad networks, education, health, drinking water, power, sanitation and social safety net. These are measurably poor in rural areas compared to urban centers Investment in education and health in rural areas also significantly contribute in reducing poverty and increasing agricultural growth. An enabling business environment needs to be created by simplifying regulatory requirements. and reforming tand and labour laws. The government has launched initiatives such as Make in India, Start-Up India, MUDBA Bonk, Skill India, ets. There is a need to identify areas for developing rural hubs based on resources, markets and infrastructure where cooperation of state governments in implementation would be vital manitoring and programme implementation. Tech start ups may play a meaningful role in bridging any ensuing digital gap.

Conclusions:

Also, the private player can play an important role in rural industrialisation. The role of the government should primarily be of an enabler of conduce business environment for setting up roads, rail, air and water infrastructure assured power supply, simplifying tax compliance; single window clearance for construction and starting business, easy access to credit, and stable policies On the other hand the private sector will invest where the business environment is more favourable which could be more often in cities and its vicinity On the event of the private sector not coming forward in underdeveloped and marginal areas the government may offer incentives and launch programmes under PPP mode. It is in such cases that key components may be identified for meeting the viability gaps through government funding while giving tas holidays to incentivize private sector investment in underdeveloped and marginal areas would be a great wabier And finally there is need to harness the power of ICT information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals and computers, as well at necessary enterprise software, middleware,

During these challenging times, how does the sector respond to the crisis and how do government measures affect 140 million farmhouseholds across the country and theresher impact the economy of a very important country in the developing world? Soon after the first nation wide lockdown wes announced, Indie declared an Rs 1.7 trillion package, mostly to protect the vulnerable sections (including farmers from any adverse impacts of the Corona pandemic. The announcement among a slew of benefits, contained an advance release of As 2000 a bank accounts of farmers a income support under the PM-KISAN scheme. The government also raised the wage rate for workers engaged under the NREGS, the world's largest wage guarantee scheme Aspecial scheme to Take care of the vulnerable population, Pradhan Mantri Garin Kalyan Yojana (Prime Minister's scheme for welfare of the poor) has been announced. Additional grantments to reghtered beneficiaries were also announced for the next three months. Cash and food assistance to persons engaged in the informal sector, mostly migrant laborers, have also been announced for which a separate PM-CARES (Prime Minister Citizen Assistance and Retief in Emergency Situations fund has been created. As the second wave of the pandemic hit the nation the government increased the agriculture credit target to Rs 1.65 trillion this time. Priority hat been given to the animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries secur

Immediate Challenges:

In spite of all these measures and in view of continuing restrictions an movements of people and vehicular traffic, concerns have been raised regarding negative implications of COVID-19 pandemic on the farm economy. This is the time when the rabi season in india has ended and crops like wheat, gram, lentil, mustard, etc (including paddy in irrigated tracts) are to be harvested. This is ahe the time when the farm harvests reach the mandis (market yard) for assured procurement operations by designated government agencies









Moreover, any severe disruption to the supply of perishable fruits and vegetables, dairy products, fish, etc. having mobilised to meet the increasing demand from urban and rural consumers, may create irreparable damage to all actors in the supply chain. The migration of warters from few parts to their native places has also triggered panic buttons, as they are crucial for both harvesting established. operations and post harvest handling of produce in storage and marketing centers

Making the food grains, fruits and vegetables and other essential items available to consumers both in rural and urban areas, is the meet critical challenge for government machinery during the lockdown period smooth functioning of the supply chain, with adequate safety meatures for the people involved, is of paramount importance Transportation of public distribution system (POS items to last mile delivery agents, by both ra and road, has to be ensured by respective government agencies Distribution of the commodities to vulnerable populations while maintaining prescribed guidelines and protocol, particularly of social distancing, must be effectively monitored

The poor sections of society are always the hardest hit in any disaster or pandemic situation With about 85 percent of Indian farm households being small and marginal farmers, and a significant part of the population being landless farm labourers; welfare measures to contain any damage from COVID-19 pandemic are being aimed at them. To surtais the demand for agricultural commodities, investments in key logistics must be enhanced. Moreover, e-commerce and delivery companies, and start ups need to be encouraged with suitable policies and incentives. The small and medium enterprises, running with raw materials from the agriculture and allied sector or otherwise, also need special attention so that the rural economy doesn't collage

To obviate the immediate concerns of scarcity of farm labor, policies must facilitate easy availability of machinery through state entities. Farmer Producer Organnation (FPO) or custom haring canters (CHC) with suitable incentives it is also suggested to explore leveraging rural a employment guarantee schemes such as NRESS funds to pay part of the farm labour (with) farmers paying the balance wage amount to lessen the monetary burden on the farmer, one persone while ensuring wage employment to the tandess labourers and workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic being a health crisis of unprecedented proportions, the major share of future Budget allocations obviously (and logically , so would be apportioned for the health sector However, investments should not be crowded out of the primary sector to prevent reversible damage to the farm economy. Most importantly, these reforms need significant pulitical will structural reforms such as land leating, contract farming and private agricultural markets, etc. have long been advocated to bring emanced investments into the agriculture sector and to push its growth. However, there has not been uniform implementation of these legislations by the states and so the full potential of the sector is still unrealitet Conce of a slowdown in the real of states, post-COVID scenario, could be tackled with suitable incentive mechanisms by the government to the states. With a burgeoning population, there is a corresponding rise in food demand in India. However, the negative externalities of the Green Revolution, particularly the environmental trade-offs and staple burgeoning population, there is a corresponding rise in food demand in India. However, the negative externalities of the Green Revolution, particularly the environmental trade-offs and staple cereals fundamentalism, have since been reused t thus, desirable to switch over to a suitable model. with a far stronger nutrition focus where diets are more diverse. The post-COVID situation offers that unique opportunity to repurpose the existing food and agriculture policies for healthy population.