what is the policy paralysis ?
Answers
Answer:
This column hates to say we said so. Prices are not falling but the farmer is getting a rough deal. Industrial output and GDP growth is not picking up. It all comes out on the business page but the usual admonition that the economy will pick up is repeated by the senior-most officials from whom we actually expect answers to real problems.
The terms of trade were doing badly for agriculture and the farmer was not doing too well. Big MSP increases without policy support, we argued, would not work and so it was. In the third week of October, news bureaus are reporting that mandi prices in bajra, maize, cotton and major oilseeds and pulses were ruling below support prices. Ten to 40 per cent deficiencies are common. It’s an avalanche, so the official stance is to say the rabi will be better! The claim that a 50 per cent increase in MSP has been provided over cost of production is not kosher any more on the field, apart from the criticism of many observers.
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There is only token procurement in pulses and oilseeds because the prices the farmer has sown for are much higher and tariff policies are slow and don’t always help him because they are announced after the imports have taken place. The government hardly ever imposes a high enough tariff because of the needs of the consumer and so the fight goes on. When prices are rising this is a tough policy bind.
Balancing farmer interests and fighting inflation needs the kind of strategic thinking that is not seen much apart from by the central bank. NAFED does some procurement but it is usually short of funds. The real issue of markets, first-stage processing and supply chains, lies elsewhere. As an example, getting Walmart to buy farmers produce and give them space in its warehouses is far more important as an alternative supply channel. But we are also told that its case is slowed down because of powerful lobbies.
Answer:
Answer: Policy paralysis is a situation where important laws and reforms are not passed because of lack of commitment on part of the government or inability of the government to reach a consensus over the correct variation of the reform.