Karnataka’s Minister of agriculture BC Patil told the press that the govt was planning to provide a subsidy of Rs 20 per litre on petrol and diesel for the farmers in Karnataka.
This step will be taken by the Karnataka Government after much pondering on the issue of the upcoming Rabi cropping season and the prices of diesel and petrol which have literally touched the three-digit mark recently in the state.
Due to the funding crunch in 2020 because of the pandemic, India as a whole had increased the taxes on petrol and diesel.
This however has led to an unprecedented rise in the prices of petrol and diesel across the country, in Karnataka specifically the price of petrol today is 108.91Rs / litre, and diesel stands at 98.52 Rs/ litre.
This however poses a huge problem for the state as more than 50% of its population relies on farming as their prime source of income.
With the upcoming Rabi cropping season and the need to use the tractors to till the land the hike in petrol and diesel prices poses a very huge problem for farmers in average or below-average income groups,
Hence this attempt of the state to subsidize the prices of petrol and diesel by 20 Rs to bring their prices below the 100 Rs mark is a very good step and should be “if possible” replicated in other states by their respective ministries of agriculture.
Although this plan has yet to be put into action, Minister Patil, speaking at an event in Chitradurga, told the reporters that he will surely speak to the chief minister Basvaraj bommai about the subsidies soon.
Although subsidies are a form of solution for the farmers before the upcoming cropping season they are not a permanent solution, however its a commendable effort and worth noting.
