As farmers continue protests for 24 days, Modi claims new farm laws benefitting them

As protests by Indian farmers against the new farm laws entered the 24th day today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said reforms brought by his government six months ago have started benefiting farmers.

Speaking at an event of Associated Chambers of Commerce, Modi highlighted reforms undertaken by his government in sectors ranging from manufacturing to labour laws and said India has in the last six years emerged as the world's preferred destination for investment, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Record foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investment (FPI) during the pandemic is a testimony to the faith the world now has in India, he said.

"Agriculture reforms initiated six months back have started benefitting farmers," he said without elaborating.

Braving severe cold, hundreds of farmers mainly from Punjab and Haryana states have kept some of the highways leading to Delhi blocked for more than three weeks now protesting the new farm laws which they fear will prompt the government to stop making direct crop purchases at minimum state-set prices, called minimum support price (MSP).

However, the government says the three new laws passed by Parliament six months ago remove curbs on marketing farm products and allow cultivators the choice to engage with private companies to sell their crops. This, it says, allows farmers an alternative avenue to sell crops, raising their income, and is aimed at making farming more competitive.

Also, the new laws do not end MSP-based procurement and mandis would continue to function, the government has stressed several times.

Several rounds of negotiations between the government and the farmers' union leaders have failed to break the stalemate.