 bill no  163 of  2018 the national agricultural policy commission bill, 2018 by shri nihal chand chauhan, mp a billto provide for establishment of a national agricultural policy commission to formulatepolicies on improvement and development of agriculture in the country andfor matters connected therewith or incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-ninth year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called national agricultural policy commission act, 2018short title and commencement(2) it shall come into force with immediate effectdefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(b) "agricultural produce" includes paddy, wheat, coarse cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits and flowers and such other agricultural produce as may be notified by the central government, from time to time;5(c) "commission" means the national agriculture policy commission constituted under section 3;(d) "farmer" means any person who cultivates land or causes it to be cultivated for agricultural or horticultural purposes;(e) "fund" means the agriculture development fund constituted under section 6; and10(f) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act3 (1) the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, establish a commission to be known as the national agriculture policy commission for carrying out the purposes of this actestablishment of national agriculture policy commission(2) the commission shall consist of—(a) a chairperson, having special knowledge in the field of agriculture; and15(b) four members including agricultural producers and experts in matters related to the agriculture and agricultural research, to be appointed by the central government in such manner as may be prescribed20(3) the central government shall provide such number of experts, officers and staff to commission, as may be required for its efficient functioning(4) the salary and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service of the chairperson, members, experts and officers and staff of the commission shall be such as may be prescribed4 it shall be the responsibility of every state government to furnish the following information to the commission:—25(a) total area under agriculture under its jurisdiction; (b) total production in agriculture;responsibility of the state government to furnish information to the commission(c) annual demand of agricultural products; (d) potential for increase in export of agricultural products; and30(e) potential for establishment of industries based on agriculturefunctions of the commission5 (1) the commission shall, on receipt of information from the state governments under section 4, formulate such policies, as it may deem appropriate, for the development of agriculture in the country35(2) without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the policies shall include:—(a) appointment of experts to study the situation of agriculture, from time to time;(b) formulating measures to improve production and quality of agricultural produce by reducing the cost of agricultural inputs;(c) taking steps related to storage and marketing of agricultural produce;40(d) undertaking study of capacity and weaknesses of farmers in agriculture; (e) analysing the reasons for reduction in income from agriculture and suggestionsfor increasing the income of farmers;(f) framing scheme to increase productivity, profitability and stability of agricultural systems in states;(g) suggestions to maximise the agricultural production with the use of availablesurface water and minimum use of underground water;5(h) measures for prevention of crop damage due to climate change, maintainenvironmental balance and increase the soil fertility;(i) formulation of short-term and long-term policies for agricultural produce; (j) providing funds to states for establishment of industries based on agriculturalproducts and development of agriculture; and10(k) formulate such other policies, from time to time, as it may deem appropriatefor carrying out the purposes of this act6 the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute a fund to be known as the agriculture development fund for carrying out the purposes of this actconstitution of the agriculture development fund157 the central government shall, after due appropriation made by parliament by lawin this behalf, provide necessary requisite funds, from time to time, for carrying out the purposes of this actcentral government to provide requisite funds8 the provisions of this act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any othcr law for the time being in forceact to have overriding effect20power to make rules9 (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rulesfor carrying out the purpose of this act25(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the rule statement of objects and reasonsfarmers and agriculture can survive only when farmers are given due priority and respect former prime minister late shri lal bahadur shastri had given a slogan 'jai jawan jai kisan' to safeguard the interests of farmers and encourage sustainable practice of agriculture however, the incidence of suicide by farmers and agricultural crisis are not less than any national disaster intensive agriculture based on high external grants has seriously affected our soil, water, biodiversity and climate therefore, concrete steps should be taken to make the livelihood of farmers stable, respectable and self-reliantafter seventy years of independence there is a need for constituting a national agriculture policy commission for the welfare of farmers to ensure income of farmers and minimize risks related to productivity so that farmers are not forced to leave farming resources like land, water, jungle, seed and knowledge are required to be protected there is a need to review the agricultural policy based on increased consumption of water supply, energy and chemicals to reduce the cost of agriculture infrastructure development be encouraged at village level for storage, processing, marketing of agricultural produce through cooperative institutions so that farmers can prosperthe bill, therefore, seeks to establish a national agriculture policy commission for improvement and development of agriculture and also to increase the productivity and quality of agricultural produce in the countrythe bill seeks to achieve the above objectivesnew delhi;nihal chand chauhanjuly 9, 2018 financial memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for the constitution of a national agriculture policy commission it also provides that the central government shall make available necessary experts, officers and staff for the efficient functioning of the commission clause 6 provides for the constitution of an agriculture development fund clause 7 provides that the central government shall provide requisite funds to the commission for carrying out the provisions of this act the bill, therefore, if enacted, is likely to involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that an annual recurring expenditure of about rupees five hundred crore would be involved from the consolidated fund of indiaa non-recurring expenditure of about rupees  hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 9 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the rules will relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character————— a billto provide for establishment of a national agricultural policy commission to formulate policies on improvement and development of agriculture in the country and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto—————(shri nihal chand chauhan, mp)mgipmrnd—1840ls(s3)—01-11-2018