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It’s excellent and outstanding: Manmohan

Manmohan Singh

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the agricultural loan waiver was a “very unorthodox response” to raise the depressed “animal spirits” of farmers, the “biggest businessmen” of the country.

Describing the United Progressive Alliance government’s fifth budget as “excellent and outstanding,” he said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had “lived up to his reputation.”

“Considering the amount of depression that prevails in the agriculture sector, this is the response mechanism [farm loan waiver] that is fully justified.”

The general feeling was that agriculture was not doing well and farmers were not becoming active partners in the process of accelerated economic growth. “There is a growing farming distress.”

“We keep talking about the animal spirits of businessmen. But I think the farmers are the biggest businessmen of our country. They produce essential commodities required by us. If their animal spirits are depressed, it is not good for the country.”

Dr. Singh said his government was “very generous” in its response to address the problems faced by the farm sector. “It is a very unorthodox response.”

Mr. Chidambaram had kept the fiscal and revenue deficit under control and ensured that if “some adverse wind blows from outside the country it does not impinge on our growth process.” — PTI

Text of Finance Minister's speech

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