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Farm loan waiver- A closer look

The escalating price rise and food crisis has put into focus the state of our agriculture yet again. Only a month-and-a-half back an estimated Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver for farmers hogged the headline for days together. The government's decision was on an unprecedented scale. And this aspect of Finance Minister Chidambaram's budget speech attracted widespread comment. Almost all political parties welcomed the move as most had been clamouring for such a step to relieve the farmers from debt.