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Agri boost among key demands of RSS’ bodies
RSS-affiliated groups urge increased agriculture budget, organic farming support, land policy reforms, and aid for MSMEs and street vendors ahead of the 2026 budget.
Raise the budget for agriculture sector, implement farm-friendly land acquisition policy, promote organic farming, set up plug-and-play infrastructure for small and medium enterprises and provide dedicated land for street-vending to value self-employment are key demands of institutions affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological front of the ruling BJP.
The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), a leading farmer’s movement, asked the central government to raise the share of agriculture in the Union budget. The budgetary allocations to the department of agriculture and farmers welfare (DA&FW) and the department of agricultural research and education were ₹1,27,290.16 crore and ₹10,466.39 crore, respectively. Together, the total allocation of the agriculture ministry in FY26 is ₹137,756.55 crore at the budget estimate (BE) stage, 2.7% of the Union budget, according to PRS Legislative Research.
A government official, who did not wish to be named, said agriculture sector is the first priority of the Narendra Modi government. “Budgetary allocations to DA&FW alone have been raised significantly over years. The BE for the department in 2013-14 was a mere ₹21,933.50 crore. It has been increased to ₹1,27,290.16 crore now at BE of 2025-26,” he added.
BKS also asked the government to intensify its efforts for organic farming. “In order to give priority to natural farming and organic farming, the government while presenting the 2024–25 budget said it will cover one crore farmers through the schemes and incentives, but till now fewer than 10 lakh farmers have been roped in for organic farming,” said BKS general secretary Mohini Mohan Mishra. According to the website of BKS, Kerala, the association has about 10 million members across the country.
Mishra said research institutions, government subsidies on fertilizers to industry, and information on chemical farming techniques are creating obstacles for farmers to adopt natural farming or organic farming. “In organic or natural farming there is absolutely no fertilizer; even in integrated farming mostly manure is used. Therefore, instead of giving subsidies on fertilizers, the subsidy amount should be given directly into the farmer’s account through the Kisan Nidhi per acre,” he said, adding that it will encourage them to use manure.
Besides BKS, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an economic and cultural organisation promoting national self-reliance, also gave its customary suggestions to the finance ministry ahead of the annual budget, scheduled on February 1. According to people in the know, various-RSS-affiliated bodies proposed their recommendations at a meeting with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with representatives of other associations.
BKS also sought reforms in the land acquisition policy, urging the government to ensure that traditional farming land should not be converted for commercial purposes. It also asked for an independent system for production, procurement, marketing, storage, branding, and distribution for organic foodgrains and maximum permissible chemical residue standards to be fixed for organic agricultural foodgrains, which would allow farmers an easy route to sell agricultural produce at appropriate prices in domestic and international markets.
Given the dependence on pulses and oilseeds imported from abroad, the union asked the government to increase domestic production, incentives for diversification and agricultural self-reliance, and guaranteed procurement of pulses and oilseeds. “The government has increased MSP, but farmers are not getting the desired benefit. The government should ensure MSP procurement guarantee for pulses and oilseeds. This will make the country self-reliant in pulses and oilseeds along with foodgrains under diversification, and farmers will also benefit,” Mishra said.
The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) asked the government to provide incentives to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The outfit has pointed out that giving a boost to domestic production is key to the government’s ambitious ‘Viksit Bharat’ agenda. Ashwani Mahajan, the national co-convenor of SJM said employment generation through manufacturing is needed for meeting the goal of self-reliant India or Atmanirbhar Bharat.
“The performance linked incentive (PLI) scheme is a wonderful initiative, but it should be made more employment oriented and linked to MSMEs. With the nation moving towards clean energy, there is a need for more research and development in the sustainable practices and building more designs and prototypes of solar energy generation,” he said.
SJM has also suggested plug and play mode for MSMEs and identifying land parcels that can be given to the manufacturers instead of allowing corporates to take over land. “Last year’s budget had the provision for mapping land for individuals, corporations and PSUs…the government should also have infrastructure such as factories in place for the MSMEs to be able to use. This will also reduce the time spent on getting clearances…” Mahajan said.
It also sought land allotment for 15 million street vendors with provisions for sanitation, amenities and storage facilities citing the Singapore model. “They need dignity and logistics. This in turn will reduce traffic congestion and solve hygiene issues…we also need rural economy led development,” Mahajan said.
The Sangh has for long batted for focus on agrarian and rural economy, pointing out that the villages could be the bedrock for economic growth and sustainable living. In line with that, the SJM has suggested “decentralised development”, and replicating the one district, one product scheme to the tourism sector, which will encourage visitors and give the local economy a boost.
BKS asked the government to provide more focus on animal husbandry. It sought aid for conservation and promotion of indigenous cattle, animal husbandry, and fisheries. The union has also underlined how despite a corpus fund of ₹2,000 crore for the setting up of local markets not a single such market has been opened in the country. The corpus for establishment of local markets was announced in the Union Budget 2018–19 for establishing 22,000 local markets.
In recent years, the government has been gradually moving towards success in its efforts to achieve self-reliance in agriculture, increase farmers’ income, promote natural farming, the Kisan Samman Nidhi, and to take India towards becoming a Developed India by the year 2047. In this context, the Budget for the year 2026–2027 will play an important role, BKS said.
