Hyderabad: Telangana‘s Agriculture Minister, Tummala Nageswara Rao, has reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He requested the removal of the 12% GST on farming machinery.
On Friday, Minister Tummala pointed out the importance of supporting the agriculture sector, which is crucial for over 65% of India’s people. He believes that policy changes should promote mechanization and lessen the financial load on farmers.
The minister noted that small and marginal farmers face many challenges. The current GST rate makes modern farming tools too expensive for them. This situation prevents poor farmers from buying machinery, resulting in lower yields and more manual labor. Tummala’s request aims to make mechanization more accessible, thus boosting productivity and easing the financial stress on farmers. He stressed that this tax exemption would help farmers not just in Telangana but all over India.
In a video meeting with district agriculture officials, Tummala reviewed the distribution and availability of urea, an important crop fertilizer. He instructed officials to keep urea stock information updated and to plan ahead, so farmers know when supplies will arrive. Early rains and the premature release of Sagar water led to early planting of crops like cotton and maize, causing a mismatch in urea supply timing. The minister called for quick transportation of urea from railway rakes to district storage points and emphasized working with district collectors to solve logistical challenges.
Tummala also told officers to watch stock levels at the local level and ensure private sellers offer urea at fair prices, warning that overcharging will lead to strict penalties. He proposed linking farmers’ passbooks to urea sales for better tracking and transparency.
He highlighted the importance of promoting nano urea, a more efficient and environmentally friendly option. Director of Agriculture Dr. B. Gopi and other senior officials joined the review meeting.
