Indian Farmers’ Union Slams Union Budget 2025 as Anti-Poor and Corporate-Friendly.
New Delhi:
The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and Himachal Kisan Sabha (HKS) have strongly criticized the Union Budget for 2025, calling it an anti-poor, anti-farmer policy that favors corporations, capitalists, and the rich. The farmer bodies argue that the budget is a direct attack on the livelihoods of farmers, laborers, and the economically disadvantaged, claiming that it fails to address the real issues facing the agricultural sector.
In a statement released today, AIKS and HKS pointed out that despite agriculture and allied sectors contributing 16% to the country’s GDP, the budget allocation for agriculture has been reduced. The revised estimate for the agricultural budget in 2024-25 was Rs. 3,76,720.41 crore, while the allocation for 2025-26 is just Rs. 3,71,687.35 crore. Factoring in inflation, this constitutes a significant cut in real terms. The farmers’ organizations also noted a continuous decline in actual expenditure on agriculture and allied activities since 2020-21, highlighting that under the current BJP-led NDA government, farmers have consistently been sidelined.
AIKS and HKS also expressed disappointment with the lack of provisions for ensuring legal guarantees for Minimum Support Prices (MSP), expanding procurement, or providing debt relief for farmers. Despite the parliamentary committee’s recommendations on ensuring remunerative prices for agricultural produce, the government has ignored these calls.
The unions further criticized the insufficient allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which saw a mere Rs. 86,000 crore set aside for the fiscal year, with no emphasis on rural job creation. They also pointed out that the government has halted all funding for the National Institute of Rural Development, highlighting the government’s indifference towards rural development and the poor.
Moreover, the food subsidy allocation for 2025-26 has been reduced compared to the previous year, and there has been zero allocation for the distribution of pulses under welfare schemes, even though Rs. 300 crore was allocated for this in the last budget. The much-touted Rs. 12 lakh income tax exemption is being criticized as an election-year gimmick, with inflation and rising costs rendering the benefits meaningless for the common people.
The AIKS and HKS also condemned the significant reduction in funds for the Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme, which saw a cut from Rs. 15,864 crore to Rs. 12,242.27 crore. They further criticized the stagnant allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, noting that it has not been adjusted for inflation since its inception in 2019.
The unions also pointed out the cut in food subsidy from Rs. 1,71,298.50 crore to ₹1,67,887.20 crore, a decrease of Rs. 3,411.30 crore. They also criticized the government’s inadequate approach to pulses self-sufficiency, with only Rs. 1,000 crore allocated to the six-year initiative for pulses production, particularly as the government had earlier increased tariff-free imports of pulses, including from Mozambique.
In response to these concerns, the AIKS and HKS have announced plans for a nationwide protest on February 5, 2025, in solidarity with the broader farmers’ movement. They called on their units across the country to burn copies of the budget in protest and to mobilize support for the joint actions organized by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Central Trade Unions.
The statement concluded by accusing the government of continuing to neglect the needs of farmers and rural communities while prioritizing the interests of large corporations and the wealthy elite. The farmer unions pledged to make the upcoming protests a significant show of resistance against what they term a “corporate-friendly, anti-poor” budget.
