Aligarh: The Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management (AEBM), Aligarh Muslim University, organised a panel discussion on “Indian Budget 2025-26 and Agriculture” to analyse the implications of the Union Budget on the agricultural sector.
The panel comprised Prof. Shaukat Haseen and Dr. Dastagir Alam from the Department of Economics, Prof. Akram Ahmad Khan, Dean, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Chairman, Department of AEBM, Prof. Saghir Ahmad Ansari, Dr. Shamsuzzama and Dr. Rahil Akhtar Usmani from the Department of AEBM.
The panel discussed the key allocations and policy measures introduced in the Indian Budget 2025-26, particularly concerning the agricultural sector. Special emphasis was laid on increasing agrarian credit allocation, agriculture research, fertilizer subsidies, minimum support price (MSP) policy reforms, and investments in agricultural infrastructure.
Another significant point concerned increasing the farmers’ budget allocation considering the total population size. The discussion stressed the importance of sustainability in agriculture and demanded technological enhancement for better productivity substantially lower than the maximum attainable yields.
The panel discussed measures for further transforming the tax structure in a progressive manner, and concluded with recommendations to improve budgetary implementation in the agricultural sector.
The panellists stressed the need for strengthening farm insurance mechanisms, expanding market access through better logistics and export policies, enhancing agriculture research and development (R&D), and strengthening public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the sector.
