SAMPLE PRECIS SOLUTIONS

Make a Précis of the following passage in 130 words and give it a suitable title.

Nearly six decades ago, a professor in a Walt Disney comedy bequeathed

immortality to a mental failing that has been a recurring cause of red faces.

The professor was bright and brainy but so single-mindedly focused on high
matters of science that he could never remember the more mundane “asides” of
life — including his forthcoming wedding. The Absent-Minded Professor may have
been a laugh riot, but absent-mindedness is no laughing matter.

At work, if you misplace a file or stand up to make a presentation only to realise

that your notes are in the drawer at home, you will be deemed slack and clearly
unfit for what HR departments describe as “higher responsibilities”.

Present day society with its fetish about practical efficiency does not readily
forgive us — the serial forgetters. Word goes around that our memory has more
holes than a mosquito net. The extended family will then stand on the sidelines
and snigger while the spouse, out of wifely concern, suggests consulting the
friendly, neighbourhood neurologist, just in case it’s an early warning sign of
dementia. Relax, it’s nothing of the sort.

Listen to the experts. George Grossberg, Director of Geriatric Psychology at the St.
Louis University School of Medicine, says: “Someone who misplaces his keys, gets
frustrated, and runs around looking for them is (just) absent-minded. On the
other hand, a person who misplaces his/her keys, doesn’t know that they are lost,
and after they are found, forgets what they are for, that’s cause for concern.” If
you haven’t gone that far, you are in safe territory. We of the forgetful fraternity
also have historian-cum-philosopher Yuval Noah Harari on our side. He says that
the human mind is not designed to “think like a filing cabinet”. A normal mind
does not move like a regiment on parade. Rather, like a Jaspreet Bumrah run-up,
our line of thought hops, stops, and pops as memory surrenders to our poet-like
imagination.
There are many ways of polishing a rusty memory. These range from regular
meditation to de-clutter your top storey to eating brain food like almonds every
morning. If you tend to forget the names of people you have met, you are told to
repeat the name under your breath till your mind has got it pat. More discretion
is advised. Suppose you are repeating ‘Rooprani’, make sure your wife is not
within earshot.

If none of this works, do not despair. Not everything in this world is of lasting
significance. Why carry around the burden of unpleasant remembrances or the
overhang of guilt? As Khalil Gibran said: “Forgetfulness is a form of freedom.”

THE CASE OF FORGETFULNESS

A popular character in a Walt Disney film puts forward the issue of forgetfulness
in a funny manner. However, this forgetfulness can cause great professional
damage to a person at the workplace. The present day society does not tolerate
forgetfulness as an ailment and recommends one seeks professional help. Experts
from the field of medicine attribute forgetfulness as not serious if it is a case of
absent-mindedness but warn against the extreme one. Philosophers have agreed
that human mind is not designed like a filing cabinet for memories. There are
many methods to improve one's memory ranging from meditation, eating
almonds and de-cluttering one's mind. However, one must not have guilt over the
issue of forgetfulness as there is not much of great significance in the world.

Make a Précis of the following passage in 150 words and give it a suitable title.
India is the world’s seventh largest economy, and the fifth largest personal
consumption expenditure (PCE) market globally. With all the efforts put in by the
industry in driving digital payments deeper and wider across the country over the
past year, India has emerged as one of the fastest adopters of digital forms of
payment ever. And still, India continues to retain its tag as the world’s largest cash
displacement market in absolute terms.
The government’s focus on driving digital payment penetration has certainly been
a catalyst over the past year. There has been an evident escalation of digital
commerce over these past months, in turn reaping benefits for consumers,
businesses and the economy in general. Digitization of payments forms the
building block towards creation of a formal and transparent economy, helping us
in the fight against corruption, terror financing and unaccounted wealth. In the
longer run, moving towards a less-cash economy will boost the country’s GDP and
will bring about a deep structural shift in the economy. As we have witnessed
over the recent past, it also offers the perfect platform for digital entrepreneurs
to innovate and develop products and solutions that could truly change the way
the world transact. In particular, open-loop solutions with the potential to reach
out to mass markets and help spread the digital footprint far and wide.
With over 800 million debit cards and over 30 million credit cards in the market,
almost every household in India now has access to a digital form of payment.
Even more heartening is the emergence of the humble debit card as a preferred
form of payment over the past year. At 3X growth in payment volumes and over
3.5X growth in transactions, consumers are beginning to enjoy the benefits of the
debit card beyond its use as an ATM cash withdrawal instrument. Non-
discretionary spending categories such as fuel and groceries have emerged among
the largest spending categories, indicating digital adoption across the mass
market. The single largest reason for this surge could be attributed to the rapid
expansion of the acceptance infrastructure in India.
Since the start of the year, the industry has added over 1 million new acceptance
points, increasing the number to 2.8 million across the country. The trend
continues across e-commerce platforms too, with more consumers preferring to
transact using digital forms of payments. Notwithstanding the significant progress
we have made over the past year alone, there is a lot more work to be done. At a
modest 11%, the country’s electronic Personal Consumption Expenditure (ePCE)
rate is a far cry from some leading economies around the world with ePCE rates
upwards of 60%. By expanding the acceptance infrastructure, energising
innovative methods of payments, and bolstering financial participation through
stronger, open collaboration, we can continue to move up this value chain in the
future.
Digital commerce is well and truly on its way to changing the way Indians pay and
get paid in the future. The opportunity to leverage digital commerce beckons
consumers, businesses and government’s alike. How we seize this opportunity
would eventually determine our ability to play a lead role in the transformation
towards a digital world.

Sustainable digital payment revolution by India

The tag of world's largest digital payment adopter India is leading the market of
digital payments. With continuous effort in the industry the digital drive is deeper
and wider across the country. The country's electronic personal consumption
expenditure has seen a rise than the leading economies of the world. At triple the
growth in payment volumes and transactions consumers are using the benefit of
debit cards even beyond ATM withdrawals. The reason for this growth can be
attributed to the acceptance infrastructure in India. The digital entrepreneurs
have given the opportunity of innovation and expertise in digital transactions
which changed the way the world would transact. Digital commerce is ultimately
revamping the way Indians pay and get paid.

1. Make a Précis of the following passage, and give it a suitable title.

The amendments passed by Parliament to the National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development (NABARD) Act, 1981 support the government’s push to boost
the rural and agricultural sector. The amendments recognise the vital role of
micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as defined under the MSME
Development Act of 2006, in rural entrepreneurship and are intended to make
financing easier for them.
The 1981 Act was enacted to establish a development bank to provide and
regulate credit and other facilities in order to promote and develop agriculture,
small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts, and allied
economic activities in rural areas.
In March 2017, the Finance Ministry listed a slew of factors which necessitated
amendments to the 1981 Act.
In the statement of objects and reasons for the National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development (Amendment) Bill of 2017, the government explained that
with its expanding activities, NABARD needed to be provided with additional
equity from time to time to enable it to meet its objectives of promoting rural
development and sustainable rural prosperity. It said certain existing
commitments of NABARD relating to the long-term irrigation fund and enhanced
refinance support to cooperative banks required urgent infusion of equity.
The government reasoned that as the current authorised capital of NABARD is
fully paid-up, there was a need to increase it to enable the Central government to
infuse additional equity as and when required.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holds 0.4% of the paid-up capital of NABARD. The
remaining is held by the Central government. This causes conflict in the RBI’s role
as banking regulator and shareholder in NABARD, the statement said.

The government said its focus was on the employment potential in rural areas,
medium enterprises, and handlooms. It proposed to include these enterprises in
the ambit of refinance activities of NABARD.
The NABARD (Amendment) Bill, 2017 provides for empowering the Central
government to increase the authorised capital of NABARD from ₹5,000 crore to
₹30,000 crore in consultation with the RBI. The amendments primarily seek to
transfer the RBI’s balance equity of ₹20,000 crore in NABARD to the Central
government.
Title: The amendments to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (NABARD) Act, 1981: rationales behind and intended outcomes
The NABARD Act, 1981 was enacted to promote rural and agricultural
development through provision of credit and assistance for enterprising
activities in rural areas. The amendments to the Act were primarily aimed at
ensuring the rural prosperity through more flexibility in capital infusion by the
government, enhancement of refinance coverage of NABARD and functional
ownership of NABARD by the government. The amendments sought to
empower government to infuse capital as and when required by NABARD to
fulfil the obligations under the Act. There was also proposal through
amendments to bring medium enterprises and handloom firms of rural areas
into the ambit of refinancing by NABARD. This reaffirmed the focus of the
government on employment generation in rural areas. Moreover the issue of
conflict of interest in the role of RBI as both the shareholder of NABARD and
the regulator of the same was to be addressed through the amendments.

2. Make a Précis of the following passage, and give it a suitable title.

India's already large population is expected to become the world's largest in the
next 20 years, while its economy will soon overtake Japan's to become the world's
third largest. The resulting increase in the demand for food will need to be met
through higher agricultural productivity or by increasing food imports.

India has a particularly large agricultural sector. While the sector's share of GDP
has halved in the past 30 years to around 15 per cent, it still employs around half
of India's workforce and accounts for much of the volatility in Indian GDP. India
has the second largest area of arable land in the world and is a major producer of
a number of agricultural products. Around the turn of the century, India overtook
the United States as the world's largest producer of milk and is also a major
producer of pulses, such as chickpeas and lentils, which are major sources of
protein in vegetarian diets.

Growth in agricultural output over the past three decades has been strong and,
importantly, crop production has been able to broadly keep pace with the
demands from a growing population. The introduction of high-yielding seeds
(such as improved strains of wheat) from the mid-1960s and the increased use of
chemical fertilisers epitomised what became known as the ‘green revolution’.
Wheat production increased by nearly 150 per cent between the mid-1960s and
mid-1970s and the country became self-sufficient in grain production by the end
of the 1970s. The increase in agricultural production boosted rural incomes while
also causing food prices to fall. This had the effect of reducing rural poverty
(World Bank 2004).

Despite the productivity improvements in the Indian agricultural sector over

recent decades, yields remain low by international standards and growth in yields
has only been marginally higher than the world average. In particular, yields for
cereals and vegetables remain substantially lower than the world average. Crop
yields have increased much more for rice and wheat than for other cereals, such
as barley, or for pulses. Wheat yields have tripled over the past 50 years and rice
yields have doubled, while yields for pulses improved little over this period.

A major institutional factor that has limited agricultural productivity in India is

regulation of land holdings. In order to address the highly concentrated
ownership structure of land in India prior to independence, the Government
instituted land reforms that placed ceilings on land holdings. As a result,
agriculture in India is dominated by a large number of small-scale, owner-
occupied farms. The most recent estimates suggest that around 100 million
households were engaged in agricultural production in 2002, roughly 70 per cent
of all rural households and only marginally lower than the share of rural
households engaged in agriculture in the early 1960s.

The Government is gradually improving access to insurance through the National

Insurance Scheme (NIS), although in 2009 only 18 million farmers were insured
under the scheme. The scheme covers farmers who produce cereals, millets,
pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton and potatoes. In certain areas, farmers
growing these crops and accessing Seasonal Agricultural Operations loans from
financial institutions are required to purchase this insurance, while others can opt
in voluntarily. Importantly, the scheme covers drought and other weather events
as well as loss of production due to pests and disease. Premium rates are typically
between 1.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent of the value insured, with those farming
less than 2 hectares receiving a 50 per cent subsidy.

To help alleviate poverty and to shield Indian consumers from global food price
fluctuations, the Government subsidises food purchases for many consumers. The
Government procures agricultural goods from producers, who must sell a share of
their output to the Government at minimum support prices (MSPs), which are
typically below market prices. Procured food is sold through the Targeted Public
Distribution System (TPDS), which consists of about half a million ‘fair price
shops’. In order to purchase food through this system, households apply for ration
cards, which indicate whether they are assessed to be Above Poverty Line (APL) or
Below Poverty Line (BPL).

Water management is crucial to improving conditions in agriculture. India

currently has around 5,000 large dams that are able to store more than 220
teralitres, which ranks seventh in the world in terms of capacity. While dams in
other parts of the world are built for flood mitigation, power generation and
water supply, the primary purpose of India's dams is irrigation. Around
40 per cent of crop areas are now irrigated, and these areas produce 70 per cent
of India's crop output. A significant proportion of farms have limited or no access
to irrigation, and therefore still rely on rainfall as their sole source of water.

India's agricultural sector is still very important to the Indian economy, although
its share of the economy has decreased over the past 50 years. India has made
significant advances in agricultural production in recent decades, including the
introduction of high-yield seed varieties, increased use of fertilisers and improved
water management systems. Reforms to land distribution, water management
and food distribution systems will further enhance productivity and help India
meet its growing demand for food.
Title: - Growth of India’s Agricultural Sector

It is anticipated that India will become world’ largest population in the next 20 years
and its economy will become world’s third largest overtaking Japan’s economy.
Higher agricultural productivity or increasing food imports will be required to meet
the increasing food demand. India’s agricultural sector share of GDP has come
down to 15% in the past 30 years. In spite of this, it employs half of India’s
workforce. India became the largest producer of milk leaving behind U.S.A., along
with pulses. But inspite of this, yield remained low as per international standards
and growth in yields was just marginally higher than the world average.
Government purchases agricultural goods from the producers and sell it through
the Targeted Public Distribution System consisting of fair price shop. This will help
mitigate poverty and save Indian Consumers from fluctuations in global food price.
India’s dam capacity is Seventh in the world. Though India’s agricultural sector
share in the economy has decreased in past 50 years, but it still holds an important
place in Indian economy.

3. Make a Précis of the following passage, and give it a suitable title.

Agriculture in India constitutes 14% percent of GDP, 44 percent of employment

and is the backbone of the rural economy but contributes only 16% of Gross
Value Addition (GVA). Hence, government intervention and assistance is highly
essential to facilitate implementation of both policy and structural reforms to
address some of the key challenges in agriculture. Rising incomes and changing
consumption patterns are expected to continue the increased demand in
horticulture and proteins which is likely to have a cascading impact on inflation
which is a key focus area for the government. Hence, increasing storage
capacities, improving availability of pulses, reduction in import dependence in
areas like oilseeds and enhancing farmer livelihoods will be some of the key areas
that the budget could target.

In the forthcoming budget it is expected that the government would look at Direct
Benefit Transfer (DBT) for agri-input subsidy using Aadhaar linkages so as to
eliminate leakages. This would also help in putting money directly in the hands of
the right beneficiary. The DBT of input subsidy would also encourage farmers to
follow the proper package of practices with respect to input usage and not go
only by subsidy considerations thereby leading to higher productivity.

The government may consider favorably tweaking the quantum and coverage of
the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKISAN) scheme which provides a
guaranteed income to small and marginal farmers. At the same time, the
government may consider providing incentives and increased budgetary
provisions for agri-extension services and programs which are essential if the aim
of “doubling farmers’ income" is to be achieved. The government can facilitate
spurring of capital formation by incentivizing agri term-loans via interest
subvention or credit guarantee fund covering a wider range of crops and agri-
industries. Extending the ambit of such schemes has the potential to lead to
greater gross capital formation in agriculture across the spectrum and not be
limited to only the major crops.

Another step would be to consider broadening the purview of PM Fasal Bima

Yojana (PMFBY) as currently it covers 3 major types of crops, food, oilseeds and
horticulture crops, which constitute only 30% of the total crop loans given by
banks1. The PMFBY could bring more crops under its portfolio which would widen
the farmer base with access to this scheme. With the current government
highlighting water as the key focus area in this term, it could start a provision to
audit irrigation and groundwater management, implementing standard operating
processes to rationalize water usage. This could not only lead to efficient water
usage for crops but would also facilitate wider access to irrigation facilities for the
whole farmer community.

Agricultural productivity has a positive correlation with level of farm

mechanization. With the steep rise in labor cost, the inflection point where
mechanized farming is cost-effective is imminent in next 8-10 years. Farm
mechanization constitutes a key area wherein policy reforms in the form of
incentives and interest subvention schemes are expected in the upcoming
budget. The government may also increase the ambit of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana (RKVY) to support rural storage infrastructure which will enable small
producers to hold the produce till market prices are remunerative enough to sell.
This will help achieve the 2 prong benefits of augmenting farmer income as well
as minimizing post-harvest losses and preventing distress sale. An important
aspect of the rural supply chain is storage infrastructure especially cold storages.
Policy measures that can be expected to accelerate growth in the cold chain
sector are innovative rural financing models to provide capital and viability gap
funding as well as use of alternate fuels that are locally available to reduce cost.

Apart from this, extending such policy reforms towards efforts in increasing
infrastructural support in agriculture is another focus area. Infrastructural gaps
like lack of scientific storage solutions, last mile connectivity and lack of market
access plague Indian agriculture. This issue may be addressed in the budget by
increased allocation to creating agri-infrastructure as well as promoting incentives
schemes. A similar approach could also be applied to the food processing sector
wherein the mega food park scheme, which currently covers Greenfield projects,
could be extended to bring the existing food processing units under its ambit. This
measure could assist in rapid growth of the sector through the extension of this
successful scheme. At the same time, such schemes and measures need to be
supplemented with budgetary provisions for setting up of new and upscaling
existing R&D facilities and skill development centers so as to implement the best
practices & produce trained manpower.

With the finance Minister emphasizing on “Gaon-Garib-Kisan" (Village-Poor-

Farmer) as the cornerstone of policymaking, the upcoming budget may see
increased attention on the agriculture sector with a two pronged approached to
policy reforms and technical intervention. The former could concentrate on
farmer welfare, structural reforms and doubling farmer income whereas the latter
could see more focus on increasing productivity, efficiency and output across the
agriculture business value chain.

Title:- Agriculture and its improvisation

Improvement in Gross Value addition and agricultural challenges can be achieved
with aid of government. Upcoming budget could aim on horticulture, storage,
transportation and DBT to farmers to enhance productivity. Government might
focus on achieving targets to double farmer’s income and increase gross capital
formation in agriculture with diversification of crops with the help of schemes like
Pradhan Mantari Kisan Samman Nidhi and Interest subvention respectively. Widen
the platform of Pradhan Mantari Fasal Bima Yojana by introduction of more crops
under it would increase reach of farmers to it. Sustainable use of water in irrigation
practices also to be considered. Upcoming years are going to reflect mechanized
farming increasing effectiveness in agriculture. Probability of focus on storage
infrastructure is expected to be seen with the aid of schemes like Rashtriya Krishi
Vikas Yojana. Infrastructural gaps need to be filled with the help of promoting
incentive schemes and by allocation to it in the next budget, same method can be
applied in food processing sectors considering the broadening of mega food park
scheme, ahead of greenfield projects. Next budget is expected to reflect policies
with considering ‘Gaon Gareeb Kisan’ as a center of focus with increase in
outcomes in various aspects of agriculture.
4. Make a Précis of the following passage, and give it a suitable title.

Some of the misplaced economic policies in the recent past have excluded a
majority of rural society from partaking in India’s journey of development,
resulting in a sense of deprivation and dissatisfaction among a large percentage of
people in the Indian villages.

Poverty in rural India is rampant with the average annual earning of a small and
marginal farmer household at ₹79,779 in 2015-16, according to the Committee on
Doubling of Farmers’ Income. The disparity in per capita rural and urban income
has remained persistently high, with an average urban worker earning over eight
times an average agricultural worker, according to NITI Aayog. The widening
urban-rural divide is also evident in the inequalities in consumption, quality of life,
and availability of physical and social infrastructure. To ensure inclusive economic
growth, the government needs to urgently focus on transforming the agrarian
economy to pull the maximum number of people out of subsistence farming and
give them a much more remunerative role.

With two-thirds of India’s billion-plus people living in villages, jump-starting the

economic engine of rural India will have a multiplier effect on investment,
consumption, government expenditure and exports. The potential of rural India
can be gauged by the fact that agricultural startups have raised nearly $130
million in about 70 deals in the past five years to 2018, according to a news
report.

Although agriculture contributes to about 17% of India’s gross domestic product

(GDP), its significance to the people of India cannot be overemphasized. In
addition to feeding the country, agriculture has nearly half of our 1.3 billion-plus
population depending on it for their livelihood. The bad news is agricultural
growth is slowing. Between fiscal 2014 and 2019, agri-GDP grew at 2.9% per year
compared with a 3.7% per annum growth between fiscal 2005 and 2014.

The Narendra Modi-led government has its task cut out. It will need to focus on
agri-technologies that can boost agricultural productivity, create value-added
farm products and tap “farm-to-fork opportunities" to ensure better realization
for farmers. It will also need to create millions of micro-entrepreneurs and
thousands of economic clusters in rural India, besides investing in rural roads,
rural electricity, irrigation networks and national cold chain grids.

To re-energise the rural economy, the Modi government has been trying to bring
in some policy reforms like e-markets, farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and
the Model Contract Farming Act, 2018. As Indian farmers have the smallest
landholding on the planet, they lack individual bargaining capacity in the open
market for their small produce. In such a scenario, the creation of FPOs can give
them a competitive edge because they can pool in their produce, invest in cold
storage facilities and better negotiate with large buyers. In fact, these FPOs can
tie up with business schools to build the knowhow for developing a robust
entrepreneurial ecosystem that leads to the creation of a vibrant rural economy.
If we can create villages that can directly sell produce to global markets then we
will see the ripple effects of a micro-entrepreneurial economy flowing through
rural India.

While smart government policies, financial inclusion initiatives and investments in

infrastructure can help, greater use of technology can fire the entrepreneurial
spirit and spur innovation in rural India. Technology can also help farmers’ access
to high-quality inputs, crop health and yield data and crucial weather related
information. Adoption of advanced agriculture technology through machines and
equipment that use data analytics, Internet of Things and robotics can help
optimize inputs and enhance yields. Moreover, using technology and data science
can help build more efficient supply chains that connect retail grocery stores with
food processors and FPOs.

Even as we move on the policy front, we must also bridge the huge knowledge
gap in Indian agriculture between farmers on one side and crop scientists on the
other. Farmers should be trained on micro-irrigation, micro propagation, latest
farming technology, smart use of fertilisers, better understanding of crop rotation
etc.
To conclude, to kick-start the rural economy, we must formulate policies that
focus on helping people emerge from an existence of perpetual disadvantage
through incentives not hand-outs. A bridging of the urban-rural divide is
imperative for long-term sustainable growth of the economy.

Title:- Rural India: Driving India’s Economy

With two-thirds of the country's population living in rural India, it is a vital place
to develop and achieve a long term sustainable growth of the Economy. In recent
times, there has been an increase in the difference in livelihood between urban
and rural workers. Poverty in certain groups can be observed from the facts about
the average annual income. There is a slowdown in Agricultural growth with the
sector contributing to a mere 17% of GDP with a majority of the population
depending on it. With the recent economic policies excluding the majority of rural
individuals, it is time for the government to include its development. The
government led by Modi need to focus on providing solutions to the farmers to
increase agricultural productivity and reach consumer markets besides
infrastructure development. The establishment of micro industries paves the way
for development in rural economies. The government with its aim to provide
global markets to create FPOs to benefit small landholders to form groups and
conduct the business. Desired technological improvements are also possible with
collaboration with business schools. Technological developments to assess the
crop health, weather-related information provides high-quality inputs to the
farmers to enhance their yield. Digital platforms and e-markets help to increase
the business of farm produce. Farmers need to be trained on products by
scientists to optimize production. Thus policies need to be formulated to provide
incentives to farmers and improving the sector for economic growth.

5. Make a Précis of the following passage and give it a suitable title.

With a majority of its population living in villages, rural poverty is a major problem
in India. The disparity between the urban and rural incomes is also on the rise.
This leads to migration to urban areas resulting in urban blight as well. Therefore,
addressing the problem of rural poverty assumes urgency. National Agro
Foundation (NAF) has addressed this wicked problem.

Since its inception in 2000, NAF has been involved in a range of interventions—
infusion of technology, soil enrichment, efficient farm and water management,
improved cattle development, functional literacy, rural sanitation and public
health, human resource development, establishment of self-help groups
particularly among women, self-employment opportunities and facilitating
institutional credit—to address the problem of farm productivity in India. The NAF
focuses on the poor and marginal farmers, women, unemployed youth, and
depressed communities.

NAF works in about 250 villages and has reached 30,000 rural families. A large
part of NAF’s effort with farmers is to help break their initial emotional barriers to
new technologies. This has provided the platform to launch into other initiatives.
The success of these measures has had a demonstrative impact on the farmers’
willingness to adopt and internalize new technologies. This may be considered an
attitudinal breakthrough.

Another initiative, the Center for rural development (CFRD), a training cum village
knowledge center, has been established with classrooms, computer lab with
internet facilities, input and product handling center, farm machinery workshop,
model experimental farm, residential complex for trainees and an open air
theatre to cater to the needs of various sections of rural community. NAF has also
established a Research and Development Center in Chennai housing a
comprehensive soil testing laboratory, food safety and standards laboratory and a
plant tissue culture lab to provide agriculture support services.

Some highlights of the outcomes as a result of these NAF interventions have been
agriculture productivity improvements through resource conserving "Lean
Farming”: Paddy (55%), Groundnut (113%), Vegetables (116%), Sugarcane (40%),
and Corn (150%). Through successful lead farmers, technology transfer has been
effective over an area of 10,000 acres with a "Lead Farmer—Lead Village”
concept. Addressing the agriculture value chain—soil testing, facilitation of inputs
and credit, market linkage, and field advisory services—is part and parcel of
agriculture development initiatives. Promotion of climate resilient agriculture,
resource conserving technologies and promotion of use of Information
Communication Technology (ICT) in agriculture are being attempted too.

Watershed and natural resource management initiatives have resulted in increase

in water table ranging from 3.5 meters to 5 meters in the project area of over
6,000 hectares. Cropping intensity has been doubled (two crop cultivation in a
year instead of one crop) and about 20% additional area which had been left
fallow has also been brought under cultivation. Soil erosion, nutrient loss, damage
due to flooding during rainy seasons have reduced significantly.

Over 6,500 high yielding cross bred cattle with a milk yield improvement to the
extent of 300% has also been achieved through NAF’s animal husbandry
initiatives. To sustain the benefits derived, the Social Development initiatives of
NAF have helped village communities in establishing community-based
institutions like Farmers Clubs (160), Self Help Groups and Joint Liability Groups
(900), Farmers Producer Organizations (6), Watershed committees (25) etc. for
collective decision and action. Over 6,000 people have been made functionally
literate through adult literacy program. Over 1,900 beneficiaries have established
micro-enterprises for which microfinance has been facilitated. 30 children are
passing through every year through its play school for the past six years. The
children are provided nutritious food in order to ensure nutritional security to the
underprivileged. Over 1,400 toilets have been built with people participation
under sanitation initiatives.

Training is imparted on "technology-oriented” and "participation-oriented”

modes to various stakeholders of agriculture and rural development like farmers,
youth, women, socially excluded, functionaries of NGOs, water users, producer
groups, input suppliers, bankers, students etc. Over 50,000 people have benefited
in the past decade.

Reducing income inequality is not just a matter of charity, it is a challenge for

innovation. NAF is an interesting experiment. The problem is so large, will more
corporations step forward to collaborate with organizations like NAF to tackle this
challenge?

Title:- National Agro Foundation’s role in improving rural livelihood

Rural poverty is a large problem for India with its massive rural population and
National Agro Foundation (NAF) has been trying to tackle this problem. NAF uses
a variety of methods to increase farm productivity all the while focusing on the
upliftment of the poor members of the agricultural community. NAF has a wide
outreach and has successfully aided a large number of farmers in adopting new
technologies which they might be averse to due to a preference for older
methods. It has focused on increasing the education levels and access to
information of farmers and provided scientific support to farmers. Its methods
have led to a considerable increase in productivity for a number of crops and led
to adoption of modern technological initiatives throughout the agricultural cycle.
Water retention and soil quality have also improved. NAF promotes cross
breeding of cattle with those that have a higher yield thus leading to increased
milk production. It has actively undertaken training programs for members of the
village community in its mission to reduce urban-rural inequality.
6. Make a Précis of the following passage and give it a suitable title.
A truly agriculture and rural development-focussed Budget, it has adequately met
the twin objectives of growth and inclusiveness.

When doubling of farmers’ income agenda is being rigorously pursued by the

government, a fresh slew of measures through this Budget will only firm up the
prospects of the agriculture and rural development sectors. The crux of the
Budget is ‘sustainability’ in every aspect, be it agriculture practices or economic
viability.

An announcement of formation of 10,000 new FPOs over the next five years is a
step towards the same. With this, the economies of scale can be harnessed to
achieve the goal of doubling farmer’s income by reduction in input costs and
assuring better price realisations by the farmers for their output.

The incentives proposed for women SHGs will not only lead to livelihood
generation and women empowerment, but also nurture first-generation
entrepreneurs though the MUDRA loans of ₹1 lakh. With the proposed
interventions, not only farmers, but also rural entrepreneurship will get the
necessary boost.

The government’s impetus is to promote non-farm activities to boost economic

viability of farmers. Owing to climate change challenges, it has become imperative
to explore viable and sustainable non-farm means of income generation. A new
scheme — Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana(PM-MSY) — will give enough
confidence to those who are in fisheries sector, to enhance their income with
better fisheries management, infrastructure creation, increasing production and
productivity, improved post-harvest management bringing economic viability of
the sector. As the government wants to extend the parameters of ease-of-doing
business and ease-of-living to the rural areas too, the emphasis of ‘Gaon, Garib
and Kisan’ will see the uplift of rural lives of farmers and the poor, equally. The
government has shown that every person having potential to bring economic
revolution will be given an equal opportunity. Another new scheme — SFURTI —
is an attempt in this direction.

Rural artisans have received a holding hand from the government in a cluster-
based development approach that will upgrade regional and traditional
industries, benefiting about 50,000 artisans. Now, under Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana (PM-GSY), a road network of 1.25 lakh km will bring more villages to
rural markets. Enhancing the prospects of agripreneurs, the ASPIRE scheme will
create 50,000 skilled rural entrepreneurs, especially in the rural agriculture sector.

To expand the income sources of our farmers, there is a proposal to enable them
to take up power generation activities on their field to transform the Annadata to
an Urjadata. In the dairy sector, cooperatives will be encouraged to create
infrastructure for cattle field management, milk production, processing and
marketing.

For relieving farmers from uncertain prospects, the States will be forced to
implement e-NAM mechanism for better operations under the APMC Act. Going
back to the basics, as the Finance Minister rightly said, is a need of an hour,
particularly when the issues of climate change and depleting natural resources
are engulfing the sector.

The concept of zero-budget farming, which some farmers have exemplarily

proved to be viable, will boost the confidence of farmers. With conventional
means, the farmers will be able to enhance their income levels by keeping the
input costs under control. The goal of “Har Ghar Jal” by 2024 shows the sensitivity
to the issue of water availability and its scarcity, equally. Striking a balance
between the demand and supply of clean water, we can see a robust
infrastructure being created for tackling ground-water recharge, rainwater
harvesting, etc. It is felt that a regulatory framework will be needed to implement
this resolve.

Integration of funds from various Ministries to fund the Jal Shakti Abhiyan may
see critical water blocks being regained. In a nutshell, ‘sustainability’ has largely
remained at the centre of this Budget.

Title:- The Epitome of a budget focused on Sustainability and Inclusiveneness

The budget has been well designed keeping in mind sustainability and rural
inclusiveness. Extensive measures are undertaken to hasten the process of
doubling of farmers’ income. The budget announced that 10000 new FPOs will
come up to lower input costs and accrue better prices for farmers. The
announced MUDRA loans and ASPIRE scheme will benefit all rural entrepreneurs
including women. The focus is also on non-farm activities via the PM-MSY and
SFURTI schemes which will boost the fisheries sector and ensure holistic rural
economic development respectively. Cluster based development of traditional
industries will benefit around 50000 artisans while PMGSY scheme will ensure
they are connected to rural markets. e-NAM mechanism has been brought in to
ease agricultural operations. Farmers will be encouraged to generate power for
extra income while cooperatives will be assisted for improving the dairying
process. Zero budget farming is encouraged and the aim of “Har Ghar Jal” by 2024
has been taken up to ensure water conservation as well as its sustainable use.

7. Make a Précis of the following passage and give it a suitable title.

Many economists and other experts have expressed their views about the overall
effect of Coronavirus on economy and industry. Most reports seem to be painting
a gloomy picture because of this two week lockdown that in all likelihood will be
extended by another two weeks. There is no doubt that there will be a dip in all
economic indicators. Nobody can argue on that front. Longer the lockdown more
will be the time required for economy and industry to bounce back. But it may be
incorrect to assume that Indian economy will be in dire straits.

It may be prudent here to understand a few basic truths about Indian economy.
Large part of Indian economy is rural based and is hardly affected as of now. The
drastic fall in international oil prices augers well for government and will help to
keep inflation in check. Nation’s internal consumption will remain buoyant and
our huge young population is better placed to see through this Corona pandemic.
Interest rates are at all time low which augers well for businesses. Steep fall in
stock markets is more because of market sentiment and not due to any such fall
in economy in last two weeks. Once things start getting normal, the same markets
will bounce back in quick time. On the flip side, new investments may be deferred
while some small and micro businesses may have to shut down.

White goods and automobile sectors will certainly see a lower demand going
forward that may continue till the year end. Buyers’ priorities will undergo a
change and such luxuries will be on the hit list for some time. There will be pain
for some export oriented industries as orders may be scarce and delayed by
buyers abroad. Construction and real estate sector that was already in trouble will
continue to remain depressed with no signs of revival in foreseeable future.
Heavy industries sector, comprising of steel, cement and mining, is another area
that will possibly be hit in the short-term. Construction activity in private sector
will take time to pick up and many government projects may be put on hold
because of the heavy non-budgeted expenditure in fighting Coronavirus battle
and other relief measures.

The worst hit sectors are aviation, tourism and hospitality where the problem
started much before the lockdown. Their demand pick up too will be slower that
may extend to over six months, perhaps more. For capital intensive aviation
industry, debt servicing and meeting employee wage bill will be the key concerns.
The government will certainly need to come to their aid to help them to tide over
these difficult times.

Most large and medium sector industries will bounce back quickly once lockdown
is lifted. Small and micro sectors where businesses are owner driven will face
serious challenges barring a few niche players. Many of these act as suppliers to
larger industries and their revival will be dictated by the speed of revival of the
large and medium sector. Promoters of such companies may have to infuse more
capital to stay afloat to overcome the slack period. A few among them may even
shut down in case lock down lasts longer than the expected one month.

The sectors that will be well placed in the coming months are pharmaceuticals,
medical, agriculture, internet providers and some on line selling platforms that
cater for home essentials, groceries, medicines etc. and do not rely only on
limited range of products like clothes or white goods. Indian pharmaceutical
sector should see massive expansions with worldwide recognition and
acceptance. Government must be proactive in facilitating this. If there is an
exodus of Japanese and Western manufacturing industries from China, India must
be ready to offer them a viable and attractive alternative. That may well be a
game changer for India.

With time businesses will reinvent themselves and find innovative solutions to
overcome the problems that they have faced in this period of lockdown. That will
result in growth of some more industries and give birth to newer methods of
doing business. An example of this may be asking more people to work from
home in some industries like call centres, consulting, banking, finance companies
and similar businesses where employee work can be monitored remotely. This
will result in cost cutting and reduced infrastructure requirement for many.

This may be a good time for the country to look at its basic manufacturing in SME
sector that had shrunk because of onslaught of Chinese imports. One important
lesson learnt from this lockdown has been about the need for self-sufficiency in
daily essentials for the huge Indian population. When a nation finds itself short of
simple things like masks, protective clothing, latex gloves and essential medical
supplies, it is indeed something to worry about. It is time to leverage the
entrepreneurial drive of an average Indian to ensure that the nation does not face
a similar situation ever again. The nation must aim at reducing imports of daily
essentials from China and instead make them in India. ‘Make in India’ has to
extend to ‘sell Indian’ and ‘buy Indian’. It is time Indian store shelves are full of
India made products instead of Chinese products finding most of the shelf space.

To achieve the above, government should commission a few fast track pilot
projects in SME sector under ‘Make in India’ to encourage new entrepreneurs to
manufacture products that are currently imported from China. These pilot project
must be given whatever incentives are required and an infrastructure that
matches their needs. Supply chain for many industrial segments that include
automobiles and white goods has taken a major hit in last three months. Many of
these manufactures would have exhausted their inventories already and awaiting
supplies from their sources in China or South Korea. Government should
encourage greater participation of Indian entrepreneurs in this supply chain
management under ‘Make in India’. If FY 20-21 becomes the year of substituting
Chinese imports with ‘Make in India’ products, that would be a fitting snub to
Coronavirus and the nation that was the root cause for spread of the same.

It is time for India and its financial institutions to encourage and make domestic
capital investments attractive instead of looking for foreign capital that invariably
demands a lot of concessions. Without a doubt there is a lot of unused capital
available within the country. May be there is a need for a radical change in
nation’s industrial policies as was done after the 1990-91 fiasco. Finally, please
remember world economies, including Indian economy, have fallen before many
times and have always managed to come out stronger. There is no reason why
that will not happen this time too.

Title- The COVID EPIDEMIC:- Is there a silver lining?

As a nation we just don’t have to endure these tough times and come out of it
somehow, instead we must look to turn it inside out and use it as an opportunity
to take long strides forward. This may seem too ambitious with the grim situation
around in a country which is at a complete standstill, and which may not move for
a month may be. But we have to look ahead of these times and try and
understand how we could utilize the situation and could not throw ourselves in a
pit which we will do in days to come owning to our over dependence on imported
goods. A country like ours has done it before and can do it again but there will be
collateral damages, no one can deny that. The industries which deal with luxury
goods will find a hard time ahead. Many small and micro industries which have
their dependencies on large and medium industries may not cross the bridge, but
those who re-invent themselves will sail over and show us the new ways of doing
business. Work from home may become a new norm, wherever possible. Many
infrastructure projects would have to shelved. Tour and travel industry and its
allies will be severely impacted. But the silver lining in this gloomy cloud will be
our Pharma sector, which will stamp its authority world over. And it is in times
like these that Indian financial giants can make investing in India lucrative. If we
tread cautiously with an eye on investment, and make someone’s loss our gain,
we might remember just the best of these worst times.

8. Make a Précis of the following passage and give it a suitable title

India is an agricultural country: Kids of 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s grew up
reading this one sentence in school textbooks until LPG (liberalisation,
privatisation and globalisation) changed the complexion of Indian economy.
Services became the king of economy and industries started pulling out workers
from the fields.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in India -- as part of global pandemic -- shut
down offices of the gloating services sector and closed factories. But crops
standing in fields kept growing, and farmers continued to tend them. Covid-19 has
essentially and largely remained an urban outbreak in India till now.

Now, economy indicators show what is already known: production has contracted
in factories and services have suffered losses. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit
India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 27.4 in April. This is
the lowest reading of PMI in 15 years, that is, since it started recording data.
A PMI of below 50 indicates contraction in manufacturing. It was 51.8 in March.
Cases of the novel coronavirus started surging in India in the first week of March.
States were going for lockdowns by the third week. The national lockdown was
announced from March 25. India remained locked down through April.

Now, lockdown 3.0 is in place. The third phase of the coronavirus lockdown is
actually an exit door. Over 14 days, India will restart the economic engine that
was practically switched off on March 25. The manufacturing units have started
opening in green and orange zones (areas either free from coronavirus or less
impacted by Covid-19, the disease).

It is expected that PMI will rise in May. But how long the economy will remain in
revival mode is a difficult question to answer. The Indian economy was already in
an extended slowdown before the coronavirus outbreak applied brakes.

As the novel coronavirus shows ebbing signs in Asia, Europe and America, there is
a fresh round of trade war between the US and China. This has dampened the
mood of revival. Stock exchanges including those in India have reflected the soggy
sentiments.

In a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) survey, about 45 per cent of CEOs in

India said they don't see economic normalcy returning before a year. Another 36
per cent were more optimistic but said it would take 6-12 months for economy to
function with normalcy.

Simply put, over 80 per cent of CEOs in India think normalcy is not going to return
before six months. This is the beginning of May. So, before the end of October,
the Indian economy of industry and services sectors (agriculture fields don't have
CEOs) is to reel under the impact of coronavirus.

The Indian economy is left with agriculture, only agriculture to depend upon. And,
the good news is India is expecting record food-grain production at almost 300
million tonnes -- 298.32 million tonnes to be precise (149.92 MT kharif + 148.4 MT
rabi).
The government now has to ensure that all food-grains that farmers want to sell
in the market is picked up. This is particularly necessary because with seemingly
less significant contribution to the GDP at around 16 per cent, agriculture
provides employment to about 55 per cent of workforce in India.

Add to this tally those migrants who are returning home in Shramik Special trains
and are likely to return to their villages when lockdown is lifted and regular public
transport resumes. A healthier and growing agriculture could not have happened
at a better time.

Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand has pointed to this silver lining in the dark
clouds hovering over Indian economy. In media reports, Chand has been quoted
as saying, "The farm sector will grow by 3 per cent this year despite adverse
conditions and it would add at least 0.5 per cent to India's GDP growth in 2020-
21."

This 0.5 per cent additional contribution by agriculture may actually prevent
Indian economy from contracting this fiscal. This includes production of non-food
crops such as oilseeds.

To top it up, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a normal
monsoon in 2020. There is no concrete study yet but coronavirus outbreak has
put pressure on ground water resources everywhere.

Sanitising body, hospitals, vehicles and public places requires a lot of water.
Water consumption has increased in every household. With factories opening,
water consumption will only increase as India eyes upscaling the fight against
coronavirus. The IMD prediction, if it turns out accurate, will ensure that taps,
wells and fields don't dry up when summer hits its peak.

With more production and more workforces, agriculture requires proper

management by the government. If 100 per cent procurement happens, it will
revive private consumption demand, which was originally responsible for the
economic slowdown in India in pre-corona time.
This brings us back to the opening sentence that India is still an agricultural
country. The coronavirus outbreak has reinforced this often ignored reality of
130-plus nation.

Title:- India: An Agrarian Economy

Agriculture contributes to 16% of Indian GDP and provides employment to 55% of
workforce. The coronavirus led to shutting of services sector and manufacturing
industries. This led to lowest PMI reading of 27.4 in April. Indian economy was
already stuggling before the pandemic.It may take about an year to recover.
Agriculture is providing support to the economy. The foodgrain production is
expected to be around 300 million tonnes in this year. The Government needs to
ensure 100% procurement. This will lead to revival in consumption demand. The
coronavirus has led to water stress with the increase in consumption of water for
sanitation purposes. The prediction of normal monsoon by IMD is the good news
that will help to meet the increased water demand. Agriculture is the only sector
that is expected to grow by 3% this year. It is expected to add around half a
percent in the GDP growth of India. Thus, agriculture plays a substantial role in
India even though this fact has been neglected by the country since LPG reforms.
9. Make a Précis of the following passage in 150 words and give it a suitable
title.

The Union Budget has introduced various reforms to boost economic growth and
put India back on track to become a $5 trillion economy. While the budget may
not have a big bang announcement, it has significantly stepped up expenditure
for the next financial year to ₹30.42 trillion from the revised estimate of ₹26.98
trillion in the current fiscal. It is thus evident that the government will aim to
spend aggressively in the new fiscal and put money in the hands of citizens
through its various programmes, including lowering of personal income tax, to
boost demand.

At the same time, the government is creating room for reviving private sector
investment by rolling out the National Infrastructure Pipeline that envisages
creation of 6,500 infrastructure projects worth ₹103 lakh crore over the next five
years. A rapid implementation of these projects that are backed by efficient
financing mechanism holds the key to revitalising the growth engine and
propelling GDP towards $5 trillion mark. The bevy of projects promises to
transform the hinterland and build robust infrastructure across sectors like
housing, safe drinking water, clean and affordable energy, healthcare, world-class
educational institutes, modern railway stations, airports, bus terminals, metro
and railway transportation, logistics and warehousing, irrigation projects, etc. The
proposal to grant 100% tax exemption to Sovereign Wealth Funds on their
investments in infrastructure is expected to bring copious and long-term funds
into the sector. Similarly, abolition of dividend distribution tax will encourage
foreign companies to also step up investments in these projects.

The idea to develop five new smart cities with states under (PPP) Public Private
Partnership model is also a step in the right direction as it will have the potential
to harness convergence of three different economic activities of upcoming
economic corridors, manufacturing activities in those regions, and new age
technologies and demands of aspirational classes.

Backed by a dynamic workforce, India is at the cusp of a major economic

transformation and a flurry of projects are critical to not only provide gainful
employment but also fulfil aspirations of a young society that wants better
standards of living, with access to health, education, clean energy, water and
better jobs. It is here the Budget has rightly laid stress on the need for a robust
education system for creating next generation talent pool and enhancing skill sets
with greater inflow of finance to attract talented teachers, innovate and build
better labs. Various innovative ideas like improving employability of students in
general stream, providing internship to newly graduated engineers in local urban
bodies and attaching a medical college to an existing district hospital in PPP mode
are noteworthy.
The budget has provided ₹22,000 crore for power and renewable sector.
Interestingly there is mega push to boost generation of solar power. Schemes like
helping 20 lakh farmers set up stand-alone solar pumps and enabling them to set
up solar power generation capacity on their barren land and sell it to the grid will
give a fillip to renewable energy in the country. Similarly, the plan to set up large
solar power capacity alongside the rail tracks on railway land is also a laudable
move. Along with several large renewable energy projects including solar parks,
such small ticket projects by farmers will allow India’s rapid transition to an era of
sustainable and clean power generation and bring down our dependence on coal-
based power generation.

Given that a number of our cities are battling polluted air, it is heartening to note
that the budget also talks about the need to shutdown thermal power plants that
are old with high carbon emission levels. The land vacated by such power projects
can in fact be used to set up wind or solar energy farms. The budget has also
allocated Rs 4,400 crore to encourage states to implement plans for ensuring
cleaner air in cities.

While the budget did not announce any major steps to address the financial woes
of the distressed power distribution utilities or Distribution Companies
(DISCOMs), it set the ball rolling with the proposal to promote smart metering. If
states and Union Territories replace conventional energy meters by prepaid smart
meters in the next 3 years, it will significantly ease the financial burden of
DISCOMs and cut their losses. At the same time, it would give consumers the
freedom to choose the supplier and the price of electricity.

To sum it up, the budget has the right intent in several areas. It is now over to
quick and seamless implementation to unleash the animal spirits in the economy.

Title: - A Step Toward Becoming A $5 trillion Economy.

With major focus on boosting demand in the economy Union Budget aims to
spend aggressively, including reducing personal income tax. Various reforms
introduced in a budget aims to make India $5 trillion economy. Also, to revive
private sector Investment government introduced National Infrastructure Pipeline
worth Rs.103 lakh crore over the next five years. To bring long term funds into the
infrastructure sectors, budget proposes to grant 100% tax exemption on
Sovereign Wealth Fund, abolition of dividend distribution tax is proposed. To
promote economic corridors, manufacturing activities & new technologies at the
same time, 5 new smart cities are proposed. To address the need of the
demographic dividend, budget focuses on multidimensional approach for their
empowerment. With increasing need of power, budget focuses more on solar
energy & encouraging farmer to use grid connected solar pump. To control air
pollution, budget also talks about shutdown of old thermal power plant,
moreover, to cut the losses of distribution companies, budget proposes smart
meters.

10. Make a Précis of the following passage in 170 words and give it a suitable
title.
Agriculture in India is livelihood for a majority of the population and can never be
underestimated.
Although its contribution in the gross domestic product (GDP) has reduced to less
than 20 per cent and contribution of other sectors increased at a faster rate,
agricultural production has grown. This has made us self-sufficient and taken us
from being a begging bowl for food after independence to a net exporter of
agriculture and allied products.
Total foodgrain production in the country is estimated to be a record 291.95
million tonnes, according to the second advance estimates for 2019-20. This is
news to be happy about but as per the estimates of Indian Council for Agricultural
Research (ICAR), demand for foodgrain would increase to 345 million tonnes by
2030.
Increasing population, increasing average income and globalisation effects in
India will increase demand for quantity, quality and nutritious food, and variety
of food. Therefore, pressure on decreasing available cultivable land to produce
more quantity, variety and quality of food will keep on increasing.
India is blessed with large arable land with 15 agro-climatic zones as defined by
ICAR, having almost all types of weather conditions, soil types and capable of
growing a variety of crops. India is the top producer of milk, spices, pulses, tea,
cashew and jute, and the second-largest producer of rice, wheat, oilseeds, fruits
and vegetables, sugarcane and cotton.
In spite of all these facts, the average productivity of many crops in India is quite
low. The country’s population in the next decade is expected to become the
largest in the world and providing food for them will be a very prime issue.
Farmers are still not able to earn respectable earnings.
Even after over seven decades of planning since the independence, majority of
the farmers are still facing problems of poor production and/or poor returns.
Major constraints in Indian agriculture are:
 According to 2010-11 Agriculture Census, the total number of operational
holdings was 138.35 million with average size of 1.15 hectares (ha). Of the
total holdings, 85 per cent are in marginal and small farm categories of less
than 2 ha (GOI, 2014).
 Farming for subsistence which makes scale of economy in question with
majority of small holdings.
 Low-access of credit and prominent role of unorganised creditors affecting
decisions of farmers in purchasing of inputs and selling of outputs
 Less use of technology, mechanisation and poor productivity for which first
two points are of major concern
 Very less value addition as compared to developed countries and negligible
primary-level processing at farmers level.

Poor infrastructure for farming making more dependence on weather, marketing

and supply chain suitable for high value crops.
Future of agriculture is a very important question for the planners and all other
stakeholders. Government and other organisations are trying to address the key
challenges of agriculture in India, including small holdings of farmers, primary and
secondary processing, supply chain, infrastructure supporting the efficient use of
resources and marketing, reducing intermediaries in the market. There is a need
for work on cost-effective technologies with environmental protection and on
conserving our natural resources
The reforms towards privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation affected inputs
market at a faster pace. Agricultural marketing reforms after 2003 made changes
in marketing of agricultural outputs by permitting private investment in
developing markets, contract farming and futures trading, etc. These
amendments in marketing acts have brought about some changes but the rate is
less.
Along with this, the information technology revolution in India, new technologies
in agriculture, private investments especially on research and development,
government efforts to rejuvenate the cooperative movement to address the
problems of small holdings and small produce etc are changing face of agriculture
in India.
Many startups in agriculture by highly educated young ones show that they are
able to understand the high potential of putting money and efforts in this sector.
Cumulative effects of technology over the next decade will change the face of
agriculture.
All the constraints in agriculture make the productivity and returns complex but
still a high untapped potential is there in India’s agriculture sector.
Advantageous weather and soil conditions, high demand for food, untapped
opportunities, various fiscal incentives given by the government for inputs,
production infrastructure, availability of cheap credit facilities and for marketing
and export promotion are attracting many individuals, big companies, startups
and entrepreneurial ventures to do a lot of investments on innovations,
inventions, research and development and on other aspects of business.
The efforts are being done to convert all the challenges in agriculture into
opportunities and this process is the future of agriculture.

Title:- Agricultural reforms towards high value crops

Agriculture is one the most important aspect in Indian economy though it
contributed less compared to other sectors in gross domestic product of the
country. Livelihood of huge number of populations in the country is dependent on
the agriculture. India has come a long way after the independence from being
buyer of the food to become one of the biggest exporters of agriculture and allied
products. The population of India is increasing to become world largest populated
country in the next decade. As per the second advance estimates for 2019-20,
total food grain production is estimated to increase but according to ICAR, the
demand for the food grain would also increase than the production. India is
fortunate to have 15 ago - climatic zones, various weather, and soil conditions
and capable to grow various types of crops still due to improper infrastructure,
huge number of marginal and small land holding, lack of technology and
mechanisation, inaccessible cheap credit and improper marketing and supply
chain facilities are affecting the production. Therefore, government and other
organisations are working on making reforms to curb the challenges faced by the
farmers. Educated youth is aware of potential of agriculture sector and putting
efforts to change the future of agriculture.