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A recent ICRIER-OECD study (2018) has found that Indian farmers are being net taxed, which is captured through negative Producer Support Estimate (PSE). This book recognises this negative PSE, but focuses on rising input subsidies, be it fertilisers, power, irrigation, credit, insurance, etc., and also looks at the investments in agriculture, especially public investments. It notes with concern that public investment has been declining, while input subsidies are rising in Indian agriculture. But, marginal returns of investments on agricultural growth and poverty alleviation are much higher than that of input subsidies. Based on the analyses and review of policies, the book recommends how to rationalise subsidies that can help India to achieve higher agri-GDP growth, faster poverty reduction while ensuring judicious use of precious resources like soil and water. The volume will be valuable for those who wish to study agricultural policy developments and their implications for academic research or policy-making purposes.

Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Introduction/Ashok Gulati. 2. Supporting Farmers—Global Snapshot:OECD and Selected Countries/Ashok Gulati, Prerna Terway and Pritha Banerjee. 3. Supporting Indian Farmers: Saga of Input and Output Pricing/Ashok Gulati and Pritha Banerjee. 4. Fertiliser Pricing and Subsidy in India/Ashok Gulati and Pritha Banerjee. 5. Irrigation and Power Subsidy in India/Ashok Gulati and Pritha Banerjee. 6. Agriculture Credit Subsidy in India/Anwarul Hoda and Prerna Terway. 7. Crop Insurance in India: Key Issues and Way Forward/Ashok Gulati, Prerna Terway and Siraj Hussain. 8. Trends in Input Subsidies and Investments in Indian Agriculture/Ashok Gulati, Prerna Terway and Pritha Banerjee. 9. Impact of Investments and Subsidies on Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction in India/ Ashok Gulati and Prerna Terway.10. Private Agricultural R&D in India, Farm Productivity and the Agricultural Transformation/Marco Ferroni and Yuan Zhou. 11. China’s Agricultural Subsidy Policy and Reforms/Yuan Zhou. 12. Summary and Way Forward/Ashok Gulati, Pritha Banerjee and Prerna Terway. References.