Three Farm Bills Receive Presidential Assent [Read Notification]

On Sunday (27th September 2020) the Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) notified the presidential assent to the following 4 Acts:-1. The Farmers' Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Act, 2020; (Presidential assent received on 24th September)2. The Farmers (Empowerment And Protection) Agreement On Price Assurance And Farm Services Act, 2020; (Presidential assent received on 24th September)3. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020; and (Presidential assent received on 26th September)4. The Jammu And Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020 (Presidential assent received on 26th September)Let's understand all these 4 Acts in brief.1. The Farmers' Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Act, 2020Preamble – An Act to provide for the creation of an ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of farmers' produce which facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels; to promote efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-State and intra-State trade and commerce of farmers' produce outside the physical premises of markets or deemed markets notified under various State agricultural produce market legislations; to provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretoThe Act in Brief - This Act seeks to permit the sale of agricultural produces outside the markets (mandis) regulated by the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) constituted by different state legislations.As per the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill (now Act), the regulatory framework of APMC laws "hindered the freedom of choice-based marketing and also the inflow of investment in the development of alternative markets and marketing infrastructure".The definition of 'trade area' as per Section 2 (m) of the Act specifically excludes "market yards, sub-market yards and market sub-yards managed and run by the market committees formed under each state APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) Act" and "private market yards, private market sub-yards, direct marketing collection centres, and private farmer-consumer market yards managed by persons holding licenses or any warehouses, silos, cold storages or other structures notified as markets or deemed markets under each State APMC Act in force in India"."Trade area" means any area or location, place of production, collection and aggregation including (a) farm gates; (b) factory premises; (c) warehouses; (d) silos; (e) cold storages; or (f) any other structures or places, from where trade of farmers' produce may be undertaken in the territory of India.The Act also permits electronic trading of scheduled farmers' produce in the specified trade area.To give effect to the same, the following entities may establish and operate an electronic trading and transaction platform:companiespartnership firmsregistered societies (having PAN)farmer producer organisationagricultural cooperative societyThe Act, through Sections 3 & 4, gives freedom to the farmer to indulge in intra-state or inter-state trade in areas outside the APMC mandis.The Act also prohibits the collection of any market fee or cess under the state APMC Acts with respect to such trade outside the APMC market yards (Section 6).A key provision of the Act is Section 14, which gives it an overriding effect over the inconsistent provisions of the State APMC Acts. Also, the Central Government has been given powers to frame rules and regulations under the Act.Thus, an intention to centralize and homogenize the regulations relating to agricultural trade is evident.The Lok Sabha on Thursday (17th September) passed the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 by voice vote.To Read more about the Act and the Parliamentary Debate which took place related to this Act, please click here.2. The Farmers (Empowerment And Protection) Agreement On Price Assurance And Farm Services Act, 2020Preamble - An Act to provide for a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework in a fair and transparent manner and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretoThe Act in Brief - This Act intends to provide for contract-farming. Section 3 of the Act states that a farmer may enter into a written farming agreement in respect of any farming produce. The Act seeks to fix some terms of such an agreement as follows:Minimum period of agreement: one crop season/ one production cycle of livestockMaximum period of agreement: five years (unless the production cycle is more than five years))No farming agreement shall be entered into by a farmer in derogation of any rights of a...

Three Farm Bills Receive Presidential Assent [Read Notification]

Sparsh Upadhyay

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