Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday informed Parliament that the Government has no record of farmers who died during the agitation at Delhi's borders against three new farm laws since 2020. The Minister said the Government has not undertaken any study to ascertain the apprehensions in the minds of farmers about the three farm laws.
Asked if the Government was aware of the total number of farmers who have died during farm protests since 2020, Tomar said: "The Government of India has no such record." However, the Central Government during discussions with farmers' unions had appealed to them that children and elders, especially women, should be allowed to go home in view of the cold prevailing at that time and the Covid-19 situation, he said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
Further, in a separate reply, Tomar said, "No study has been undertaken to ascertain the reasons for apprehensions created in the mind of farmers on account of these farm laws. However, the Centre has proactively undertaken efforts to reach out the farmers to remove their apprehensions, he added.
Asserting that the government is serious and sensitive towards farmers’ issues, the minister said the Centre has been engaged in active discussions with the farmers PNS n New Delhi
Amidst disruption of the Lok Sabha business and slogan-shouting, the Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP) examining the Personal Data Protection Bill was on Friday given an extension till the Winter Session to submit its report.
The Personal Data Protection Bill seeks to regulate the use of individual's data by the Government and private companies.
This is for the fifth time the committee's tenure has been extended. The JPC was constituted in the Lok Sabha in December 2019 and was expected to submit its report in the Budget Session.
P P Chaudhary of the ruling BJP moved a motion in the house seeking extension up to the Winter Session of Parliament for the 30-member panel to submit its report.
"That this House does extend up to the first week of Winter session of Parliament, 2021, the time for the presentation of the report of the Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019," the motion read. It was passed by a voice vote.
The lower house was adjourned till 1200 hours and than adjourned for the day as order could not be restored in the house.unions.
Further, allaying concerns over farmers' privacy data under a new initiative 'Agristack', Tomar said the government has not involved any private company in developing the digital ecosystem on agriculture. Tomar also said his ministry in consultation with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is in the process of bringing out a data policy for the agriculture sector.
Agristack is a digital ecosystem for covering everything related to agriculture, including farmers' databases, land records, soil types, and crops. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Tomar said his ministry has commenced the work for creating 'Agristack' in the country and is in the process of finalising the 'India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA)', which will lay down a framework for Agristack. "No private sector companies are involved in building the Agristack," he said.