Saugata Roy asks a Supplementary Question on standardisation of Ayurvedic Treatment

Saugata Roy asks a Supplementary Question on standardisation of Ayurvedic Treatment

Posted on March 17, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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We are seeing that AYUSH is becoming popular with every passing day. People think that AYUSH does not have side effects like allopathic medicines. The problem with AYUSH is that it is not standardised. It is difficult to distinguish which products are genuine and which ones are fake.

I want to know from the Minister what steps has the Government taken to standardise ayurvedic products. There is no procedure to standardise ayurvedic treatment. What does the Minister think about this?

Sugata Bose speaks in Lok Sabha on Demands for Grants for Defence Ministry

Posted on March 16, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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Madam Speaker, three years before we won our freedom, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave a speech to the faculty and students of the University of Tokyo on the fundamental problems of India. In the course of his wide-ranging address, he identified three priorities for free India – one, the organisation of our national defence, two, the removal of poverty and three, the provision of education for the Indian masses. Seventy years after independence, these areas continue to demand our urgent attention.

The challenge for any Finance Minister is to strike just the right balance between the imperative for defence and the need for development in allocating the resources of the State. In recent years we have come to appreciate that national security is a far broader concept than a purely military-oriented definition might suggest. Public investment in a health and well-educated populace can be seen as a contribution to our nation’s security. The defence budget, therefore, is simply the most direct aspect of fiscal planning for a safe national environment. Viewed in this light, the Finance Minister has provided a reasonable sum of Rs 2,74,114 crore for defence expenditure excluding pensions.

We can only speculate whether Shri Arun Jaitley would have been more generous to himself than he was to Shri Manohar Parrikar. But be that as it may, the Defence Budget in our country is the fourth largest in the world after the United States, China and the United Kingdom. There have been steady, moderate increases in spending on defence during the last three years. The current ratio of defence expenditure to GDP of 2.14 per cent is higher than the cap of 1.76 per cent that had been proposed by the 13th Finance Commission.

Even though the total allocation for defence may seem adequate, a disaggregation of the amount by revenue and capital expenditure shows there is cause for grave concern. The ratio of revenue to capital expenditure has gone up to as much as 68.4 per cent in the Budget Estimate for 2017-18 by comparison with the already high 64.6 per cent in 2015-16 and 65.3 per cent in 2016-17.

With personnel costs, Madam Speaker, swallowing up more than two thirds of the Defence Expenditure, precious little is left for the modernisation of our armed forces with state-of-the-art technology and equipment. In fact, the overall modernisation budget or, what is called the Capital Procurement Budget, has gone down this year. The Army has seen a decline of approximately 6.4% and the Navy of as much as 12.1% despite what my friend from the Treasury Benches said just now.

The increase in the Air Force’s Budget by about 12.1% is accounted for by a handful of gigantic contracts to acquire Raphael Fighters and Apache Attack and Chinuk Heavy Lift helicopters. Madam Speaker, I am especially dismayed by the cut in the Navy’s modernisation budget. The Indian Ocean inter-regional arena is of vital strategic importance to our country. The protection of the sea-lanes, traversing the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal is essential if we are to secure our economic future as a part of an Asian resurgence in the 21st century. I am aware that the acquisition of six more conventional submarines was authorised last year under Project 75 I, these are being built in India with foreign collaboration. The first of the Scorpene class submarines – Kalaveri – has gone through its sea-trial.

But we need to do much more. Our strategic vision on power dynamics in Indian ocean must guide our strategic investments in our Navy. The strong case for our increasing capital expenditure on the latest military equipment is unfortunately undermined by the sorry records of under utilisation by the Ministry of Defence of allotted funds. It is most unfortunate that the Ministry of Defence returned more than Rs 13000 crore under the capital head in 2015-2016 and about Rs 7000 crore in 2016-2017. The Finance Minister is also the Defence Minister. I hope he will take the necessary steps to make the Defence Ministry more efficient in utilising capital funds.

The question of capital expenditure leads me to consider the matter of defence production. Despite the fan fare surrounding PM Modi’s ‘Make In India’ it unfortunately remains just that an empty slogan with no strategy for implementation. In the same speech given by Subhas Chandra Bose which I quoted at the outset, he went on to say the moment India is free, the most important problem will be organising our national defence in order to safeguard our freedom in the future. For that we shall have to build up modern war industries so that we can produce the arms that we shall need for self defence. This will mean a very big programme for industrialisation.

Seven decades after independence our defence requirements are heavily reliant on imports. The burden of a spiraling import bill has been made more onerous in the last three years because of the declining value of the rupee in relation to the dollar. I would like to ask the Finance Minister why in his Budget he has not given any special incentive towards defence production within India in support of the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ programme. What are his reasons for not giving infrastructure status to the more crucial sectors of our defence industry. Is there any plan at all to provide more jobs for our youth in defence related manufacturing.

In December 2015, our Prime Minister had given a very significant speech to our Army, Navy and Air Commanders in which he spoke of the need for a new approach for our Armed Forces, one that would give emphasis to new technology instead of blindly increasing the size of the forces. Has the government any intention of moving in that direction and thereby improving the ratio of capital to revenue expenditure. China, Madam Speaker, reduced it’s military manpower from 4.9 million in the mid 1990’s to 2.3 million two decades later. I know that a drastic reduction is not possible in our country, so long as this government presides over and is complacently satisfied with jobless growth and employment oriented economic strategy. Including jobs in defence production is a necessary condition for military modernisation.

Madam Speaker, any discussion of our military cannot be limited to dry economic statistics. The people of our country feel an emotional bond with our armed forces. We mourn as nation when the bodies of our martyred jawans are brought back to their home villages in different parts of the country. Our hearts are filled with pride when we see our soldiers marched into the tune kadam kadam badhaye ja.

A political leadership must do their best not to impose impossible internal security tasks on our military so that our soldiers can focus on defending our borders. My friend from the BJP almost handed over some territory to our neighboring country. I thought we had only crossed the Line of Control for the surgical strike. We do not consider that to be Pakistan territory.

When we send our soldiers to face the icy winds on the Siachen Glacier it is incumbent on us to give them the best protective armour to withstand the elements of nature. We cannot be miserly when it comes to bullet proof jackets or night vision equipment for our soldiers working in the most difficult terrain in the world.

I feel very sad to know that this government had many difficulties in 2014 in finding a capable and dedicated full time Defence Minister. I urge the Prime Minister to give the country a Raksha Mantri whose predilection for Goan delicacies is less important than proving nutritious food to our jawans. I urge the Prime Minister to give our country a Raksha Mantri who deems the proud responsibility of organising our national defence to be more important than power at any cost in a small State of our great Indian Union.

Madam Speaker, we on this side of the House too have a dream for a new India by 2022. I dream that India will be the most vibrant economy in the world with our citizens enjoying universal access to education and healthcare. I dream that India will be home to 20 of the world’s top 100 universities attracting the finest faculty and students from all over the world and over arching Indian identity will co-exist with multiple identities of our diverse population. That identity will be most powerfully articulated through the medium of our music to whose rhythm the entire country will dance. We will celebrate and respect our differences to rise above them.

To realize that dream of a prosperous and harmonious India we need peace. To ensure peace we require intelligent and resolute defence preparedness setting aside all temptations to be jingoistic. There are many weapons we have to acquire but we cannot use most of them. To build a new India by the 75th anniversary of our independence we will have to integrate our defence policy with a grand strategic vision based on a broad and imaginative definition of what constitutes genuine national security. That is the challenge before us, Madam Speaker, and so let us together rise to that challenge.

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien makes a Special Mention on the need to follow Bengal model to empower women across the country

Posted on March 16, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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On 8^th March we celebrated International Women’s Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the social, economic, political and cultural achievements of women. However, India still has a long way to go in ensuring that women are placed in an equal footing with men. From education to skill development, from increasing employment opportunities to ensuring safety of women, these are just some of the aspects that need to be looked into.

West Bengal has taken massive steps in working towards emancipating women. The Kanyashree scheme was introduced to arrest the drop-out rate in schools and prevent early marriage among girl students. More than 30 lakh girls have been enrolled under the scheme, which has garnered recognition worldwide, including from UNICEF. Bicycles are given to school children in rural areas through the Sabuj Sathi Scheme, and thousands of girls have benefitted so far.

More than 27,000 self-help groups have been formed over the last five years, which have over 16 lakh women members. Through the Swabalamban Scheme, training is given on a wide range of livelihood activities, e.g., zari craft, handloom weaving, beautician courses, etc

As per the latest NCRB report, Kolkata is the safest city in India in terms of crimes against women. The Kolkata Police offers martial arts training to schoolgirls, under Project Sukanya, to make them self-reliant when it comes to defending themselves.

Thus, the Central Government must take cognizance of the success story of West Bengal and use it as a model for the entire nation.

Vivek Gupta speaks in Rajya Sabha on the Union Budget

Posted on March 16, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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Sir, a lot have been said about the Budget by my esteemed colleagues before me. Sir, through you, I want to point out to the Hon. FM a very glaring fact. Sir, in the name of various cess and surcharge, Rs 1.7 lakh crore is collected every year. Sir, this surcharge and cess is not shared with the States.

Sir, through you I would like to know from the Hon. FM, why this discrimination is done and why the States are deprived from their share of the revenue? Why this practice, Sir, of increasing the cess and surcharge? Sir, why not simply increase the tax rates so that the all States – we are sitting in the Council of States – will also get the share of that revenue.

Sir, particularly my State, we have done a rough calculation, is deprived of at least more than Rs 10,000 crore only on this account. That too at a time when there is a a lot of talk about fiscal autonomy and giving greater fiscal power to the States. Sir, I would request you to ensure that I get an answer from the FM.

Sir, moving on,enough has been said about demonetisation; I just want to leave them with some questions. Yesterday Indian Express reported that there is a 10% drop in advance tax collections. All along we have been told that the economy is doing well, the tax collection is going well. Yesterday, March 15, 2017, was the last date of advance tax payments; so there is some effect of demonetisation.

Sir, whenever you use your debit card or credit card, the petrol pumps are charging 2.5% surcharge. The Government of India charges of 15% service tax on this also. And during demonetisation, till December 31, 2016, 0.75% – that is roughly about this service tax amount – was coming back to us. So every time I am swiping my debit card or credit card at the petrol pump, I have to pay 2.5% surcharge. Sir I don’t understand why the government is penalising us for using credit cards while talking of less cash economy.

Sir, this Budget also failed to correct the increasing invasion into the finances of the States. Sir, recently in Bengal two officers were appointed specially by this Central Government just to look over the operations of our treasury. Sir, the Bengal Government is the only recipient of these officers. No other State in India got these officers. Through you, I want to ask why this special treatment was given to Bengal? What has Bengal done to deserve this?

Sir regarding Aadhaar, the government makes an announcement one day and the next day they withdraw the announcement. Now I wonder if the Aadhaar will be made mandatory to even enter the Parliament; probably that is the only thing left.

Sir, on black money enough has been said. I want to point out only one point. Sir 74 percent of the FDA that comes into India comes from three tax havens. These are figures that the government knows. Our Hon. Finance Minister very easily quotes in the press that ‘so many’ people go out abroad every year yet ‘so many’ people pay taxes. But Sir, people don’t even need to go abroad; just send the money abroad and get it back. Everybody knows this. The Panama Papers have been leaked, but Sir, no action has been taken on them. Domestic demonetisation is there, I wonder if there is any plan to do some foreign demonetisation on these people.

Sir, before I end my speech I just want to you speak about tax terrorism that continues. I just want to point out a few things. Probably the government has overlooked these facts. Sir there are 23 crore PAN card holders and only 4 crore file their returns. Sir, what steps has the Government taken to attack these 23 crore people who are not filing their returns? We would like to know the detailed answer from the Minister.

Sir, the PAN card is used more as a photo identity card; my request to you would be to request the Hon. Finance Minister to even put the addresses also on the PAN card. Then it would become a complete photo ID card which has address and photo both. A lot of these people sir have taken PAN cards only because it is the only ID accepted by banks. Although there is a list given by RBI where 18 documents are supposed to be accepted but no bank, no financial institution, no government offices accept these. The first thing they say is give me your PAN card. So, even a poor person with an income of less than Rs 1 lakh per annum has to go for a PAN card. Therefore, the government is feeling that there are so many income taxpayers who are not filing their returns.

It has been pointed out that some 1.8 lakh crore cases are pending in tax disputes. But whenever we get our orders that dues are adjusted, no details of those dues are available on the website. When we go to the Income Tax Department, files are lost. There is total anarchy. Through you, I would request some special trial be done to help these taxpayers.

Thank you, Sir.

Ratna De Nag speaks in Lok Sabha on Demands for Grants for Agriculture Ministry

Posted on March 16, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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Thank you Chairman Sir, for allowing me to speak on Demands for Grants for Ministry of Agriculture. Hon’ble Finance Minister said that major focus has been given on agriculture economy and farmer welfare. But on one hand we see farmers commit suicide every day. There is an increase in the number of farmer’s suicide in last three years. Even the Supreme Court has stepped in and sought a reply from the Central Government why it has not framed any policy on this.

Government claims for allowing an agricultural credit of Rs 10 crore and the allocation of Rs 9000 crore for the Fasal Bima Yojana. Likewise announcement of Soil Health Cards, modern law on contract farming and allocation of Rs 8000 crore for diary fund and increase in the national agriculture market from 250 to 500, increase in the funding for rural and agriculture sector by 24% in the fiscal year 2017-18 to Rs 1.87 trillion.

All these would find reason and help the farmers wholly when they are providing with loans at low rate of interest from the banks. And at the times of the floods and droughts loans of the farmers should be waived off. Unless you help the farmer to come out of the tentacles of suicide there is no point of saying aloud about doing this or that.

For examples see the news items of the statement dated March 7, 2017 from districts in Maharashtra claims 3052 lives in 2016. This is the figure of just one year which means more than eight farmers committed suicide every day of the year, that too in just one State. What about the other states?

See the figure of NPAs of public sector banks; it is soaring every day – Rs 6.8 lakh crore. 70% of them are big corporate houses. This government has no hesitation to take measures to check the ever rising NPAs of bank but think innumerable times to waive off the loans of the farmers due to which they are committing suicide. Farmers are the backbone of our economy and our country.

The Hon’ble Finance Minister brings more regulated market to the electronic national regulator market platform. Is the country or the farmers’ community or the rural area ready for such an electronic platform?

Sir, another ambitious announcement is to bring 1 crore households out of poverty and 50000 villages will be made poverty free. How many households in the farmers communities were brought out of poverty? How many Gram Panchayats have been made poverty free? How much emphasis has been paid by the Ministry on farming technology and reducing the impact of climate change?

As per the reports of the Doubling Farmers’ Income by 2022 issued by the Indian Council for Agriculture Research, the average monthly income of a person from farming increased from Rs 1060 in 2003 to Rs 3844 in 2013. Which means income per farmers got compounded annually only at a growth rate of 13.7% . When facts speak in this fashion, how would the Government dream of doubling the farmers’ income by 2019?

Sir, amount allocated for research and education of agriculture is Rs 6800 Crore only which is way below 1% of agricultural GDP. That needs to be allocated to revitalise our agriculture with new seeds and innovations. It is reported in the Times of India dated February 2, 2017, that in comparison just one seed company Monsanto spends almost 70% more resources for research and development of seeds and chemicals than the entire ICRC system in India.

Lastly, I will conclude by saying the potato growers in West Bengal and in some other States are facing difficulties as their produce is sold at half the price; they are incurring huge losses. They are not deriving any profit in spite of toiling in the farm to grow potatoes. There is an urgent need to provide subsidy to the potato growers as the Central Government extends subsidy to the rice growers.

Thank you very much Sir.

Vivek Gupta asks a Supplementary Question on manual scavenging

Posted on March 16, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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Sir, as per the Census, 1.68 lakh people are there yet the government has been able to identify only 12000 people and that too the budget for this Ministry has been slashed.

Sir, I want to know through you, from the honorable Minister, is the fund constrained. I also want to know about identifying the remaining people – almost 1.5 lakh people – who are still living a life without dignity. Thank you Sir.

Vivek Gupta speaks on alleged reports of shifting HQ of Hindustan Paper Corporation from Kolkata to Guwahati

Posted on March 16, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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Thank you for giving me an opportunity today. Sir, recently, some employees of a public sector undertaking, Hindustan Paper Corporation came to my office in Kolkata and met me. They have a grievance that their headquarters which is located in Kolkata is being shifted to Guwahati. When I asked them what are the reasons for shifting, they said they had no idea.

Sir, fortunately, one week later we had a meeting of the Industry Committee where Hindustan Paper Corporation had come to press further demand for grants. There, Sir, the situation became more mysterious because the MD told us that the plant in Assam is shut down because of the lack of raw material, coal and everything, which is abundantly available in Bengal and yet they want to shift the headquarters.

When the MD was asked why they wanted to shift, he had no idea. On coaxing by the Committee, he told that they have been given some incentives by the Central Government to shift.

Sir, I do not understand why is the Central Government giving incentives to a central public sector company to shift the headquarters from Kolkata to Assam. Is it just because that the political colours of Assam have changed? Or it is something else, I would like to know from the Government through you, Sir.

Sir, Hindustan Paper Corporation is a very prestigious company; it is a very old company. It manufactures paper which is used for textbooks for children. But the NITI AYOG and DIPAM have recommended closure and shutdown. I do not want to go into their judgment, but when I asked the Industry Secretary, they are saying that they have not made any such recommendations and in fact they are trying to revive and if they receive a little bit cooperation from the Government, this company can be revived. All the workers who are not getting their dues for the last two years will start getting their dues and this company can do very well.

Sir, through you, I want to know from the Government, firstly, what is the rationale of giving subsidies to shift the headquarters? Is it just political or not, otherwise, the employees who are working at the headquarters will face immense hardship. Sir, some of them have retired parents, some of them have homes. Sir, I do not understand the rationale. Kolkata has a port, a lot of important machineries is done through Kolkata port. Kolkata is a major metro. I do not understand what is the advantage they will get by shifting to Guwahati, which I would like to know from the Government, through you Sir.

Nadimul Haque speaks on medical negligence in private hospitals

Posted on March 16, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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Sir, in the absence of doctors and due to dissatisfaction with quality standards at State-run or public hospitals, an increasing proportion of people are using private healthcare facilities, though they are more expensive. In 2014, the average cost of hospital care by a public utility was Rs 6,120 while private institutions were four times more costly at Rs 25,850. Sir, in the last decade, while the cost of treatment has more or less doubled, insurance cover is still less than 15 per cent.

However, recent cases in multi-speciality hospitals across the country show an abysmal state of private healthcare. Private hospitals lack transparency, often resulting in an increase in medical negligence amounting to severe injuries and even deaths.

A case in point is that of Sanjay Roy, a Dankuni resident, at a world-famous private hospital in Kolkata. He sadly died due to alleged medical negligence. Sir, here I want all honourable Members to listen, and listen with feelings, because only then will you understand what pains his family had to go through. The point that I want to highlight is that hospitals authorities refused to release his body unless the hospital dues were cleared. His family had to keep their fixed deposit certificates as a security, only then his body was released.

Sir, the West Bengal Government has passed an Act which seeks to bring more transparency in healthcare, ending harassment of patients and checking medical negligence in private hospitals and nursing homes. Private hospitals will now have to pay compensation in cases of medical negligence with fines as high as Rs 10 lakh or more.

Sir, similarly, there ought to be a Central law regulating private hospitals in terms of over-pricing of medical treatment, cancellation of licenses and payment of compensations in cases of medical negligence. Other States may want to enact law following the example set by Bengal. Finally, what we all need to understand is that health service is not a commercial proposition; it is a service which needs to be delivered with humility and a human touch.

I end with a Urdu couplet, Sir.

Aise mahol mein tabah kya hain, dua kya hain

Jahan qatil hi khud poochen ki hawa kya hain

Partha Pratim Roy asks a Supplementary Question on electrification of villages

Posted on March 16, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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Many of the villages all over India, including few villages of West Bengal, are unelectrified till now. Madam, in my parliamentary constituency Cooch Behar 54 Mouzas which are disconnected from the mainland – due to the rivers Kaljani and Dhoula – are unelectrified. Fifty five Bangladeshi enclaves which were recently exchanged between Government of India and Government of Bangladesh are also unelectrified. My earnest request to the Minister is to electrify these areas immediately. What is government’s initiative taken in this regard?

Tapas Mandal speaks on Demands for Grants for the Agriculture Ministry

Posted on March 15, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

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Madam Speaker thank you for allowing me to raise the points on Demands for Grants 2017-18 for the Ministry of Agriculture.

Agriculture continues to be backbone of the economy. It employs 56% of the workforce.

The total share of agriculture and allied sectors in terms of GDP is 13.9%.

Over 58% of the rural households depend on the agriculture as their principal means of livelihood.

India’s GDP is expected to grow at 7.1% in the financial year of the 2016-17 while agriculture GDP is expected to grow at 4.1%.

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spice products.

India’s fruit production has grown faster than vegetables making in the second largest fruit producer in the world.

The agro-industry in India is divided into several sub segments such as canned, dairy and frozen fruits to fisheries, meat, poultry and grains.

But there are some other points:

70% of the farmers never heard about the direct cash transfer.
Only 27% have heard about land acquisition law.
83% of the farmers are clueless about the foreign direct investment.
70% of the farmers never contacted any Kisan Call Centres.

Demonetisation affected the farmers adversely. What steps taken by the government given importance to the agriculture sector? What are the benefits and what is the road map of the agriculture sector? The economy contribution of agriculture to India’s GDP is steadily declining with the country’s broad based economic growth. Still agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the human and socio-economic fabric of India. Slow agricultural growth is a concern for policy makers as some two third of India’s population depend on rural employment for a living.

Current agricultural practices are neither economically nor environmentally sustainable and India’s yields for many agricultural commodities are low. Poorly maintained irrigation systems and almost universal lack of good extensional services are among the factors responsible. Farmers’ access to markets is hampered by poor roads, rudimentary marketing infrastructure and excessive regulation.

It will be essential for India to build up productive, competitive and diversified agricultural sector and facilitate rural non-farming entrepreneurship and employment. Encouraging policies that promote competitions in agricultural marketing will ensure farmers receive better prices. Although India has attained self sufficiency in food staples the productivity of its farm is below that of Brazil, United States, France and many other even developing countries.

Indian wheat farms, for example, produce about 1/3 of the width per hectare per year compared to farms in France. Rice productivity in India was less than that of China. Other staple crops’ productivity in India is similarly low. Indian Total Factor Productivity growth remains below 2% p.a.; in contrast, China’s Total Factor Productivity growth is above 6% p.a, even though China also has small holding farmers. Several studies suggest that India could eradicate its hunger and malnutrition to become a major source of food for the world by achieving productivity comparable to other countries.

Regarding farmers suicide, in 2012 the National Crimes Record Bureau of India reported 13,754 farmers committed suicide. Farmer suicides account for 11.2% of all suicides in India. Activists and scholars have offered a number of conflicting reasons for farmer suicides such as monsoon failure, high debt burdens, genetically modified crops, government policies, public mental health, personal issues and family problems. But we are going through a heavy agrarian crisis of Indian agriculture.

Indian agriculture is undergoing a structural change leading to a crisis situation. The rate of growth of agriculture output is gradually declining in the recent years. The contribution of agriculture to GDP comes down to less than half within the third years span. The deceleration of agriculture started from the early 1990s and it became sharp from the late 1990s.

The trend in the areas input use and capital stock and technology also reflect the agricultural downfall. All these trends show that the agricultural sector in India is facing a crisis today. It is alarming that the average monthly income of farmer houses is quite less considering minimum living standards. The suicide in farming and the agricultural sector in India is a matter of concern.

About 40 % of the farming community is on the verge of leaving agriculture as their profession due to huge loss in farming practices. The young generation is not interested in farming any more; it is said that the root cause of the crisis is that agriculture is no more a profitable economic activity when compared to the other enterprises. It means the economic activities derived from these activities not sufficient enough to meet the expenditures of the cultivators and therefore unless agriculture is made a profitable enterprise the present crisis cannot be solved.

The related factors responsible for the crisis include dependence on rainfall and climate, liberal import of agricultural products, reduction in agricultural subsidies, lack of ease credit to agricultural dependence on money lenders, decline of government investment in agricultural sectors and conversion of agricultural land into alternative uses.

The government invokes the name of Ambedkar all the time but does nothing for the people of Ambedkar; please allocate proportionate part to agriculture following SC/ST sub plan not through SC/ST welfare schemes.

The government talks of giving emphasis on looking towards Eastern India but what has the government given Eastern India, specially West Bengal, which is the gateway of Eastern India?

We have a legitimate demand for setting up of a Central Agricultural University in West Bengal. West Bengal is playing a leading role in the country in agriculture and horticulture sector. In spite of that, West Bengal is deprived from getting Central Agricultural University. Central Horticulture University is also a demand from the Government. In Horticulture, West Bengal Government is much ahead of other states. As compared to other major states, West Bengal has very few ICR Research Institutes. We need more institutes, sub-centres, like, CRIDA, IIHR, IIVR, RRI etc. in the state of West Bengal. I hope that the Minister will consider these aspects in his next Budget.

This government talks of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikash, but is depriving West Bengal. We need more funds to be allocated for the development of agriculture in the state of West Bengal.

There is a saying in Bengali: “Ghoray Choriya Moddo Hantiya Cholilo” meaning a very dangerous man is riding on the horse gently. The actions of this government, which has a huge mandate, reminds us of that saying.

In the end, I would like to add that West Bengal is an example for the rest of the country to follow regarding implementing crop insurance scheme. Thank You.