Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has called for passage of the Land Bill to meet the ‘most serious challenge’ in agriculture. This remark has come at a time when the Government is pushing hard to replace the land ordinance with an act of Parliament.
“Let us not forget that more than half of the 60 per cent (of population dependent on agriculture) are landless. And therefore unless alternative jobs are provided, this figure of 60 per cent itself will not come down and that is precisely the reason which each of the proposed changes was brought about in Land Bill, 2015 is intended,” Jaitley said while delivering the D P Kohli Memorial Lecture, organised by CBI here on Monday.
He said that agriculture is facing a most serious challenge. While 60 per cent of India’s population is dependent upon 15 per cent of income generated in GDP, the other 40 per cent share the balance 85 per cent, he said while blaming the present status quo of agriculture- and rural India-related polices for the current situation. He emphasised the need for both increasing the income and lowering the number of people dependent upon farming.
“That is the only answer to the present challenging situation. If income has to increase, then the largest investment in future, that is the determination which I am preparing myself, the present Government is preparing itself, has to come in irrigation,” he said while making a case for removing bottlenecks in attracting investment in agriculture through the new Land Bill.
“Decision-making has to be much quicker. The process of political consensus has to be statesman-like and mature,” he said while referring to the delay in passge of land bill.
He also said that the Land Act of 2013 prevented investment in irrigation, rural roads, power and also in the industrial corridor which aims to provide alternative employment to rural people. “So if we prevent industrialisation, prevent irrigation, prevent rural roads, prevent affordable housing in suburban areas of new townships which are being set up, then this challenge of 60 per cent being dependent upon 15 per cent will perpetually continue,” he said.
Taxation
On a theme titled “Economic Challenge for Aspiring India,” Jaitley also used this opportunity to assure investors. “Our Taxation process has to be simpler to increase tax buoyancy. Our taxation policy has to be non-adversarial. The government does not intend to tax people retrospectively,” he said. He mentioned that the corporate tax structure has to be globally competitive and that is why the Government has proposed to reduce it from 30 to 25 per cent in this year’s Budget.
Prevention of Corruption Act
Referring to the prosecution of retired civil servants for decisions they took in the past, he said there is a need to revisit certain provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, while noting that the concerned departments and civil servants were reluctant to take decisions.
“Phrases like ‘corrupt means’, ‘public interest’ and ‘pecuniary advantages’ have to be redefined in the present context to differentiate between the act of corruption and honest error,” Jaitley said.