Trade deal with US won’t cause losses to India’s farmers: Shivraj

Jaipur: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the India-US interim trade deal was finalised after ensuring that farmers’ interests remain protected.

“I am speaking with full responsibility as agriculture minister. We have taken complete care that no decision harms Indian farmers,” he said at an event here. On imports, Chouhan said India brings in commodities it needs, noting that the country is still not self-sufficient in pulses.

He added that limited apple imports from the US, after safeguards, would not hurt domestic growers. Cotton imports are also necessary when domestic output falls short, he said.

Without naming him, Chouhan targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of making uninformed allegations. He questioned why the UPA government did not implement the Swaminathan Committee’s recommendation on MSP and alleged policy lapses on sugar and edible oil imports.

Chouhan said the NDA government under Narendra Modi is providing free foodgrain to 80 crore people and prioritising farmer welfare.

He also launched Bharat-VISTAAR, an AI-based digital platform offering mandi prices, weather forecasts, crop advice, loans and scheme details in one interface.

The platform will initially be available in Hindi and English before expanding to other languages.