Beyond the Bailout

Maharashtra’s farm loan and power bill waivers offer immediate relief, but their real test lies in building a more resilient agricultural economy. Agricultural distress is rarely caused by a single factor. For millions of farmers, the crisis is the result of a difficult combination of erratic weather patterns, rising input costs, uncertain markets, mounting debt and inadequate access to affordable credit. In Maharashtra, where agriculture remains the backbone of rural livelihoods, these...

min read

Maharashtra’s farm loan and power bill waivers offer immediate relief, but their real test lies in building a more resilient agricultural economy. Agricultural distress is rarely caused by a single factor. For millions of farmers, the crisis is the result of a difficult combination of erratic weather patterns, rising input costs, uncertain markets, mounting debt and inadequate access to affordable credit. In Maharashtra, where agriculture remains the backbone of rural livelihoods, these pressures have been particularly acute in regions such as Marathwada, Vidarbha and parts of North Maharashtra. Against this backdrop, the decision of the state government under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to implement the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karjmukti Yojana and waive outstanding electricity bills for agricultural pumps represents a significant intervention. While farm loan waivers have often generated debate over their long-term economic implications, they also serve an important purpose when they provide distressed farmers with an opportunity to regain financial stability and return to productive activity. Substantial Relief Under the scheme, crop loans of up to Rs. 2 lakh per farmer will be waived. The initiative is expected to benefit around 56 lakh farmers, covering nearly 65 lakh loan accounts, with the state government taking on a financial burden of approximately Rs. 36,585 crore. At this scale, the decision marks one of the more substantial efforts in Maharashtra’s recent agricultural policy landscape to address rural indebtedness. The immediate impact of such a measure is clear. A farmer burdened by unpaid loans is often unable to access fresh credit from banks, leaving him trapped in a cycle of borrowing and declining productivity. By clearing eligible debts, the waiver can restore creditworthiness, improve access to institutional finance and provide farmers with the confidence to invest in the next crop cycle. However, the significance of the decision should not be viewed merely through the lens of debt relief. The larger challenge before Maharashtra is to ensure that agriculture moves from a cycle of crisis management towards sustained economic viability. The government’s decision to waive outstanding electricity bills for agricultural pumps, estimated at nearly Rs. 48,000 crore, is another major intervention. The move is expected to benefit around 30 lakh farmers. Unpaid power bills have long been a source of financial stress, often affecting irrigation access and increasing uncertainty for cultivators. Reducing this burden can help farmers maintain uninterrupted access to electricity and strengthen agricultural productivity. Yet, the true measure of agricultural policy cannot be limited to waivers alone. Relief can address immediate distress, but resilience requires deeper structural reforms. Maharashtra’s future agricultural success will depend on how effectively it improves irrigation, water conservation, technology adoption, market access and value addition. Unpredictable Monsoon The state’s vulnerability to unpredictable rainfall has become increasingly evident. For farmers in drought-prone regions, sustainable water management is no longer an option but a necessity. Investments in micro-irrigation, farm ponds, watershed development and efficient water utilisation will determine whether agriculture can withstand the uncertainties of climate change. Similarly, modernising the crop insurance system is essential. The use of technology-driven assessments, including satellite monitoring, drone surveys and digital damage assessments, can make compensation faster and more transparent. Farmers need a system that responds quickly when natural calamities destroy months of hard work. Equally important is the need to move beyond traditional farming models. Better storage infrastructure, cold chains, food processing industries and direct market linkages can help farmers capture greater value from their produce. Increasing farm incomes requires not just higher production but also better returns. The encouragement of rural entrepreneurship is another critical component. Young people in villages should see agriculture not merely as subsistence activity but as an opportunity for enterprise — through dairy farming, fisheries, poultry, goat rearing, agri-processing and technology-based farming solutions. Transforming agriculture into a modern industry could provide a new direction to Maharashtra’s rural economy. The loan waiver and electricity bill relief announced by the state government are therefore best viewed as a beginning rather than an end. Their success will depend on effective implementation, transparency, timely delivery of benefits and coordination between government agencies and financial institutions. The larger objective must be to create a farming community that is not dependent on repeated interventions but capable of standing on its own feet. Maharashtra does not merely require debt relief; it requires a financially secure and profitable agricultural sector. The state’s broader development story will remain incomplete unless its farmers are empowered, agriculture becomes sustainable and villages become engines of economic growth. (The writer is a farmer and district Vice-President, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Latur. Views personal.)

‘The Ninety-Nines’ top honour for Mumbai woman pilot

Quaid Najmi
2 days ago
3 min read

Mumbai: Sixty-six years ago, when a young Mumbai pilot, Mohini Shroff harboured a dream of flying for India, she was told that she could not even apply for it. Last weekend, the world saluted that pioneering aviatrix with ‘The Ninety-Nines, Inc.’s 2026 Award of Achievements of a lifetime.

Counted among India’s earliest women pilots and the first female pilot from the minority Sindhi community, Mohini Shroff, 90, was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award-2026 by the prestigious Ninety-Nines Inc. at its international conference in Las Vegas, USA.

Much more than a personal achievement, the award is described as “a fitting tribute to a woman whose relentless fight helped open the skies for generations of Indian women”; and culmination of almost seven decades starting with rejections, discrimination in aviation that was considered a “man’s domain”.

Earning her pilot licence in 1959, the next year Shroff responded to an advertisement of Auxiliary Air Force, hoping to serve the country. The application form never came.

When she demanded an explanation, officials bluntly told her that women were not eligible for combat roles. Shocked, Shroff pointed out that the ad had invited applications from ‘candidates’ without restrictions on male of females. “I am a ‘candidate’ and I possess the necessary flying qualifications,” she emphatically reminded them.

When this did not work, she confided in her friend Durba Banerjee who displayed courage and wrote to India’s first Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon and the first Air Chief Marshal Subroto Mukerjee with a pointed query – “Why can’t Indian women join the air force?”

There was again no reply, and Shroff decided to escalate matters. Along with the trailblazer woman pilot, Capt. Chanda S. Budhabhatti, Rabia Fatehally, Sunila Bhajekar, Mangala Joshi, Kumudini Rawal and Durba Banerjee, Shroff founded the ‘Indian Women Pilots Association (IWPA)’ in 1967 in Mumbai – the 5^th of its kind women fliers body in the world, with other women fliers like Prem Mathur - and now it has chapters in Canada, Australia, France, Malaysia and the UAE.

Shroff’s gritty campaign soon reached then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and a delegation of IWPA’s female aviatrixes stumped her with a simple question: “If India can have a woman PM, then why can’t Indian women fly for the IAF?”

Nevertheless, though she was interviewed later, the door remained shut but after another nearly three decades – in 1990 – the IAF finally opened them in inches, for women pilots. Now, Shroff, an avid fan and practitioner of aero-sports, is grateful her relentless campaign bore fruits.

Immense Proud

“I feel immensely proud to see women fliers sporting uniforms of the IAF, Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard. They are allowed to enter the NDA (Pune) and other institutions which were once ‘No Entry’ for us,” smiled Shroff, speaking with ‘The Perfect Voice’ from Las Vegas.

Her own flying journey began in 1959, when she took to the skies on a government scholarship and qualified as the first woman pilot from the minority Sindhi community – itself commendable in an era when women aviators in India could be counted on the fingers.

Since 1965, Shroff has been associated with The Ninety-Nines founded (in 1929), by 99 pioneering women aviators, with the legendary Amelia Earhart as its first President.

It inspired her to establish The Ninety-Nines India Section on March 26, 1976, currently celebrating its Golden Jubilee, with pilots like Chanda Sawant Budhabhatti, Rabia Futehally, Sunila Bhajekar, Durba Banerjee and Saudamini Deshmukh.

These women are credited with laying the foundations for women in Indian aviation with the likes of Saudamini Deshmukh, Nivedita Jain-Bhasin, Anila Bhatia-Cheema, each with their names etched in history for various feats.

“Today, India has nearly 15 pc women pilots in civil aviation, among the highest proportions anywhere in the world – and the ambition is to be higher, to 25 pc in the coming years,” said Shroff.

High-flying heels !

Mohini Shroff recalls an anecdote when she won a government scholarship for flying and the interview board asked “what is your height”. The young girl said, “5 feet, 2 inches”. “Will your feet reach the rudder?” they shot back. Unsure of what exactly was a ‘rudder’, she blurted out, “I can wear high heels…”

The interview board guffawed. Later, they assured that she need not wear high heels in the aircraft, and after measuring her from waist to feet, they decided to give her cushions.