Union Home Minister Amit Shah made the dispute about trade policy much more of a political issue, accusing Rahul Gandhi of not telling the truth about free trade agreements and promising that farmers, people in the milk business, and fishermen will absolutely be safe. While speaking in Gandhinagar, Shah went along with his promises by using technology to completely change how food is given out and to stop items from being lost or stolen.
Shah’s accusations and promises
When speaking to a crowd after starting a new public food distribution trial, Shah stated that the idea that trade agreements with the US, the UK and the EU would be bad for Indian farming was wrong. He said the government has kept important areas safe in every discussion, and the milk business is something they will not give in on.
He also said that things which were damaging to farming, and which were agreed to in previous years, were fixed not long after 2014. Making the issue a matter of who is believed, Shah asked Rahul Gandhi to openly debate him, saying that the facts about buying, money from the budget and being able to sell abroad support the government’s performance.
Shah also said the agreements are meant to make new chances for farmers and fishermen to sell abroad, and to keep protections for things made in India. The Bharatiya Janata Party, he said, would not go against the interests of farmers in any agreement to open up the market.
Trade talks and protections for sectors
India is working on or finishing a number of deals: agreements to allow access to the market with the United States, a free trade agreement with the European Union, and talks which are still happening with the United Kingdom. People working for the government have pointed to lower taxes on some Indian goods in the US, and progress towards a full EU agreement.
People who support the talks say that, if done correctly, FTAs can make it easier to get farm products like rice, spices, things from the sea, and food which has been processed into markets. They also say that markets in developed countries can take in more valuable products from Indian groups of people working together and very small and medium-sized businesses.
At the same time, the government says that important farming areas are protected by lists of things which are not included, taxes with a set amount of goods, or very long times to lower taxes, to give people in India who supply things time to get used to the changes. The milk business, often said to be especially in danger, is shown as being completely protected, with people who are negotiating being careful about milk powder, cheese and other products which could cause a large increase in goods coming into the country.
How FTAs usually deal with farming
In most modern trade agreements, farming is a mixture of exceptions and rules. Countries use lists of things they do not want to include to leave out things which are easily damaged, use taxes with a set amount of goods to limit the amount of goods which do not have to pay tax, and lower taxes over many years to give people in the country who supply things time to get used to the changes.
Rules about health and plants govern the safety of food, how much of a substance can be left in food, and the health of animals. These rules are as important as taxes, because a shipment which does not pass tests will not be allowed into a foreign market. Rules about where things come from make sure that only goods which have enough value added in the local area get better access.
Clauses to protect act as safety valves. If goods coming into the country suddenly become much more than a certain amount, taxes can quickly come back for a short time. For selling fish abroad, being given a lower tax is useful, but following rules about being able to find where something came from and being able to continue to exist is necessary to keep access to the market.
Political back-and-forth and how farmers feel
Rahul Gandhi has warned that recent trade agreements could give foreign companies a long-term place in Indian farming and damage the country’s control of its own affairs. He asked a series of questions online, asking for openness about what products are covered, protections, and how the milk business is being treated.
Several ministers said that his claims were wrong, adding that the most important farm products are still protected and that no GM food is being allowed to be imported under the agreement plans. The government’s message is that being afraid of large concessions to farming is not based on fact.
At the same time, farming groups want the full legal texts to be made public before they are officially approved. People are still asking for specific lists of what dairy, cooking oil, and some cereals will not be subject to import, as well as automatic protections when imports of these items suddenly increase, and more detail about what counts as non-tariff barriers to trade. They are also continuing to ask for MSP – Minimum Support Price – operations to be reliable, and for crop insurance to be better.
A step toward digital food safety using a CBDC PDS
In Gandhinagar, Shah started India’s first Public Distribution System using a digital currency from the Central Bank, and showed a trial of a Grain ATM. This work is meant to make the very last part of the process digital, lessen losses, and be sure that people who are supposed to get help do so, without needing to go through people acting as intermediaries.
This CBDC system is set up to keep a record of sales on a secure record, allowing audits in real time from the warehouse to the shop where rations are given out. Shah stated that the trial will make sure that wheat, rice, lentils, oil, salt, and sugar are given out in a way that can be seen by all, and can possibly be expanded to the whole country.
Grain ATMs, open all the time, will sell one-kilo packets of foods like toor dal, chana, salt, and sugar from machines that work automatically. The government intends to repeat the trials in Chandigarh, Puducherry, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and to roll it out more broadly depending on how well it does.
Shah connected this to earlier Direct Benefit Transfer changes, which he said had cut down on losses on a large scale. He gave numbers of households receiving free foodgrains and repeated that a digital supply chain will help secure the rights of the poor in areas that are far away, and in areas that people want to improve.
Figures given by the government and what they mean
Shah made a contrast between ten years under the UPA and ten years under the present government, saying that buying at MSP had risen many times. He also said the budget for farmers had gone from about 26,000 crore rupees to more than 1.29 lakh crore rupees, showing a stronger focus of policy on agriculture.
He pointed to PM-KISAN, which gives 6,000 rupees a year directly to farmers who are eligible, and said that dependable support cuts down on the need to use expensive credit. He also mentioned cuts in poverty and the wide distribution of housing, cooking gas, toilets, piped water, foodgrains, and health insurance.
If this combination of MSP buying, income support, and welfare aimed at certain groups works across sectors, it can make farms stronger when trade agreements open up markets. The final effect will depend on how prices go, how well logistics work, following standards of other countries, and how well safety nets respond.
A key test will be how well the dairy system does under any new promises. Groups of farmers and small producers want to be sure that lists of what is excluded and amounts set as limits will firmly protect milk and products made from milk. People who make policy say that these protections are already in the positions they are taking in talks.
What to look for next
– Publishing of final lists of tariffs, items excluded, and clauses for protections in agreements with the US, UK, and EU – paying close attention to dairy, cooking oils, and important cereals.
– Details of how rules about where something comes from, tests to show it meets standards, and ways to settle disputes work – as these shape how protections actually work.
– What makes bilateral protections start if import amounts increase suddenly, and how quickly officials can put back on duties to make markets stable.
– Amounts purchased at MSP in the coming seasons, along with PM-KISAN payments and sign-ups for crop insurance, as signs of support for rural areas.
– How well the CBDC-PDS trials do, including how often Grain ATMs are working, how many errors there are in confirming who people are, and how satisfied people getting help are.
– Schedules for spreading to each state, along with computer security rules and ways to deal with complaints to make sure people trust a fully digital system.
Shah’s message is direct: trade deals will make more chances to export, and will not harm Indian agriculture, and the dairy sector is safe. The opposition says that promises are not enough without the texts being public. As talks move from what people say to legal language, the details will decide which story is the one that wins.
