In an address to the nation on the morning of November 19th, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that three farm laws would be repealed (completely taken back or withdrawn).
This move came after Indian farmers protested against the three laws passed by the
Government of India in September 2020.
The three repealed farm laws are as follows:
Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act
According to this law, farmers are permitted to trade outside their physical markets and have access to e-commerce.
The state governments cannot levy market fees on farmers, traders, and electronic trading platforms to sell farmers’ produce conducted in an ‘outside trade area’.
The Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020
According to this law, the farmer and the buyer could enter a direct agreement before the sowing season of the product to sell their produce at a price that will be determined at the time of the contract. This practice is also called contract farming.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020
According to this law, food items such as edible oil, potato, onion, pulses, and cereals, were removed from the essential commodities and will be placed back into the list only during wartime or famine (extraordinary circumstances).
Protestors from Punjab and other states started a protest in Delhi in 2020. The Supreme Court also stayed the execution of the laws as early as January 2021. However, the protests continued in Delhi, demanding nothing short of a complete repeal of the laws.
As a result of many such protests during a period of a year, the government of India had to take the decision of withdrawing these three farm laws.
News Inputs by Hima Sutha