ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Search

Advanced Search

Articles by Avinash KishoreSubscribe to Avinash Kishore

Assessing Direct Benefit Transfer of Agricultural Subsidies in Bihar and Odisha

Vol. 57, Issue No. 16, 16 Apr, 2022
Avinash Kishore, Smriti Saini, Muzna Alvi

Subsidies have played a major role in expanding the ownership and use of machines in agriculture in India. Many states have shifted from price subsidy to the direct benefit transfer of machine subsidies. This study uses administrative data on the sale of 4.9 lakh subsidised agricultural implements in Bihar and Odisha to evaluate the effectiveness of the DBT of agricultural subsidies in the two states.

 

India’s Food System in the Time of COVID-19

Vol. 55, Issue No. 15, 11 Apr, 2020
Abhishek, Vaibhav Bhamoriya, Puneet Gupta, Manu Kaushik, Avinash Kishore, Ritesh Kumar, Abhishek Sharma, Shilp Verma

India’s complete lockdown has caused unnecessary disruptions in the food supply chain, with the scarcity of labour making it even worse. A sharp decline in demand is imminent with the financial sector being in a freeze and incomes having shrunk for everyone, except for the small salaried class. Consumer sentiment and business outlook on recovery are bleak. While ensuring the free movement of essential goods and availability and safety of labour can mitigate the immediate disruptions in the supply chain, unclogging the financial sector and restoring optimism in the market will take time and heroic efforts from the government.

Making Pulses Affordable Again

Vol. 52, Issue No. 1, 07 Jan, 2017
P K Joshi, Avinash Kishore, Devesh Roy

While outlining strategies to increase availability of pulses at affordable prices, it is argued that increasing domestic production of pulses is the only option. Access to one or two protective irrigation sources during the growing season can lead to sizeable increases in pulse production. The har khet ko paani initiative should give priority to pulse-producing areas. The minimum support price, without procurement, helps traders more than farmers because it acts as a focal point for tacit collusion among traders. Including subsidised pulses in the public distribution system has only a small effect on consumption of pulses. We suggest investing in research and extension, aggregating into farmer producer organisations, and paying growers or growing areas for the ecosystem services offered by pulses.

Solar Irrigation Pumps

Vol. 49, Issue No. 10, 08 Mar, 2014
Avinash Kishore, Nidhi Prabha Tewari, Tushaar Shah

Price of solar panels has declined rapidly. Encouraged by increasing affordability of the technology and its promise to curb the demand for subsidised electricity, state governments in India are aggressively promoting solar irrigation pumps. Rajasthan became the pioneer by announcing a scheme in 2011 with 86% subsidy to horticulture farmers who used drip irrigation and farm ponds. Based on extensive fieldwork and survey in three districts of Rajasthan, this paper looks at the farmers' experiences, the design and implementation of the policy, and makes recommendations for a faster and more equitable diffusion of the technology, which could attack India's invidious nexus between energy and groundwater irrigation, and change it for the better.

Direct Cash Transfer System for Fertilisers

Vol. 48, Issue No. 52, 28 Dec, 2013
Avinash Kishore, Devesh Roy, K V Praveen

The challenges in implementing a direct cash transfer system for fertilisers are daunting. This paper points out that they range from the very large number of beneficiaries to volatile fertiliser prices, necessitating market price indexation of cash transfers and controlling the market power of dealers, especially in remote areas. The imbalance in the use of different fertilisers is also a growing problem. If designed properly, a DCT should be accompanied by significant investment in soil testing and the payment should be tied to balanced use of fertilisers, including micronutrients.

Will the Impact of the 2009 Drought Be Different from 2002?

Vol. 44, Issue No. 37, 12 Sep, 2009
Avinash Kishore, Hemant P, Tushaar Shah

Groundwater, which has emerged as India's prime adaptive mechanism in times of drought, will play a crucial role this year since the aquifers were recharged in 2006-08. The impact of the drought of 2009 will therefore be less severe than the drought of 2002. Beyond the immediate response, we need to think long term. Instead of pumping money into dams and canals, Indian agriculture will be better off investing in "groundwater banking". This involves storing surplus flood waters in aquifers which can be drawn upon in times of need.

Understanding Agrarian Impasse in Bihar

Vol. 39, Issue No. 31, 31 Jul, 2004
Avinash Kishore

The key hypothesis of policy-makers during the 1980s was that raising tubewell density would trigger agrarian upsurge in Bihar as it did in Punjab, Haryana and western UP. The state did record high growth rates of cereal yields during the 1980s, higher than the national figures. However, this promising development could not be sustained in the 1990s, and cereal yields have stagnated since then. Based on fieldwork in eight villages of Bihar, the paper argues that, more than agrarian structure, the lack of adequate infrastructure and economic incentives has contributed to the agrarian stagnation in Bihar. The growth potential unleashed by the expansion of shallow tubewell irrigation has been constrained by (a) complete neglect of public sector investments in physical and institutional infrastructure and (b) unfavourable output to factor price ratios.

Back to Top

EPW

Term & Policy

Circulation

Advertisement

Connect with us