Following reports of crop damage due to unseasonal rains across North India, the Modi government is likely to announce a relief package for farmers.
The details of the package are likely to be finalised at a high-level meeting to be attended by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh this week.
The high-level meeting to take stock of the farm sector situation could take place as early as Thursday, a highly placed source in the government told The Hindu .
Senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office are likely to participate. “The government will have to announce a package before the current Parliament session ends,” the source said.
The current session of Parliament is scheduled to end on Friday but could be extended till March 24. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, which met on Wednesday morning, decided that if necessary, it could extend the session by two days — Monday and Tuesday of next week — to complete the government’s legislative business.
