Govt won’t dilute farmers’ interest at WTO: Kamal Nath
Commerce minister Kamal Nath said that the UPA government at the Centre was committed to protecting the interests of the small and marginal farmers even as it negotiated hard under the Doha round of WTO talks.
By TNN |
BANGALORE: Commerce minister Kamal Nath said that the UPA government at the Centre was committed to protecting the interests of the small and marginal farmers even as it negotiated hard under the Doha round of WTO talks.
Speaking at a joint-session organised by FKCCI and BCIC, the minister said: “Indian agriculture is subsistence-based and not commercial. It provides employment to 600m plus people. We have consistently maintained that we would not allow the Indian agriculture to be opened up for other nations. If we do so, it’s tantamount to importing the subsidies given by western nations to their agriculture sector.”
Mr Nath said that OECD-member nations provided as much as a billion dollar daily as subsidy to their agriculture sector.
Dwelling on the reform-process in the country, he said that India didn’t either follow the process adopted either by south-east Asian nations or by central and south American countries.
“The Asian crisis is fresh in our memory while the process of reforms pushed the central and south American nations to the brink of economic collapse,” he added.
Later responding to queries from members, Mr Nath allayed fears about the opening up of the retail sector. “The retail industry is growing at 23% annually and 98% of India’s retail sector is dominated by mom and pop shops. But the moot question remains how do I meet this phenomenal retail demand which is bursting at the seams?,” he quipped.
The minister said that the focus as regards retail had to be on meeting consumer growth, ensuring availability of quality, well-packed produce besides assuring that the benefits were felt both by farmers and consumers alike.
On the country’s small and medium enterprises, Mr Nath while acknowledging the role played by these units in generating employment said that the aim of negotiating under WTO was to ensure that this segment of industry was not over-run by competition.
He said that India’s appeal as an investment zone in the comity of nations was due to a host of factors including the prevalence of a democratic form of governance and the intellectual capability of Indians.
Speaking at a joint-session organised by FKCCI and BCIC, the minister said: “Indian agriculture is subsistence-based and not commercial. It provides employment to 600m plus people. We have consistently maintained that we would not allow the Indian agriculture to be opened up for other nations. If we do so, it’s tantamount to importing the subsidies given by western nations to their agriculture sector.”
Mr Nath said that OECD-member nations provided as much as a billion dollar daily as subsidy to their agriculture sector.
Dwelling on the reform-process in the country, he said that India didn’t either follow the process adopted either by south-east Asian nations or by central and south American countries.
“The Asian crisis is fresh in our memory while the process of reforms pushed the central and south American nations to the brink of economic collapse,” he added.
Later responding to queries from members, Mr Nath allayed fears about the opening up of the retail sector. “The retail industry is growing at 23% annually and 98% of India’s retail sector is dominated by mom and pop shops. But the moot question remains how do I meet this phenomenal retail demand which is bursting at the seams?,” he quipped.
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The minister said that the focus as regards retail had to be on meeting consumer growth, ensuring availability of quality, well-packed produce besides assuring that the benefits were felt both by farmers and consumers alike.
On the country’s small and medium enterprises, Mr Nath while acknowledging the role played by these units in generating employment said that the aim of negotiating under WTO was to ensure that this segment of industry was not over-run by competition.
He said that India’s appeal as an investment zone in the comity of nations was due to a host of factors including the prevalence of a democratic form of governance and the intellectual capability of Indians.
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