Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Director General Chandrajit Banerjee on Friday said that the proposed amendment to the Essential Commodities Act and agricultural marketing reforms by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are steps in the right direction for agriculture.
"In the third tranche of the package announced by the Finance Minister, the focus was rightly laid on the agricultural sector. A combination of big-ticket reforms together with allocation of money for agricultural infrastructure and logistics is a welcome move to strengthen the sector that provides the highest share of employment in our country," Banerjee said in a statement.
"The agricultural sector has been subjected to a host of restrictions which are no longer relevant. This has hindered the marketing and price realisation of agricultural products. In this context, the amendment of the Essential Commodities Act and the agricultural marketing reforms proposed by the Minister are indeed heartening," he added.
He further said: "We hope that the states fall in line with these changes. What is also critical is that these changes are being supported by the substantial allocation of funds including Rs 1 lakh crore for the development of agricultural and food processing infrastructure."
Earlier today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 1 lakh crore Agri Infrastructure Fund for farm-gate infrastructure for farmers and Rs 10,000 crore scheme for the formalisation of Micro Food Enterprises (MFEs) in the third tranche of Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package.
( With inputs from ANI )