In Haryana, there’s a wide gap between rural & urban inflation

Chandigarh: Grappling with elevated inflation rates, Haryana displayed a significant disparity in inflation rates between its rural and urban areas, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24. In the past couple of years, rural areas have been hit harder by inflation compared to urban regions due to the rural consumption basket having a higher weightage of food items (47.3%) than the urban (29.6%).
As a result, states that experienced sharper increases in food prices during this period also witnessed a more pronounced surge in rural inflation.Moreover, states with higher overall inflation rates generally display a more significant gap between rural and urban inflation, with rural inflation surpassing urban inflation. The term inflation refers to the rate of increase in prices over time, which reduces the buying power of consumers and leads to a higher cost of living overall.
In the financial year 2024, Haryana ranked among the states with the most significant disparity between inflation rates in rural and urban areas. It placed third in terms of the highest gap between rural and urban inflation. The urban inflation rate in the state stood at 5.6%, while the rural inflation rate was considerably higher at 7.8%, breaching the upper tolerance limit of 6% set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
LOWER FISCAL DEFICIT
The economic survey report stated that the preliminary unaudited estimates of finances for 23 states, including Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, published by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), suggested that the gross fiscal deficit of these states was 8.6% lower than the budgeted figure of Rs 9.1 lakh crore. This implies that the fiscal deficit as a percent of GDP for these states came in at 2.8%, which is lower than the initially budgeted figure of 3.1%. This indicates that the states managed to maintain their fiscal deficit below what was originally anticipated.
According to the report, there is a connection between per-capita income and institutional quality. States with lower per-capita incomes and higher poverty levels tend to have weaker institutions.
Consequently, they tap fewer funds per work executed under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) and generate less employment per capita for the rural poor. In the 2024 financial year, Haryana (Rs 4.89 lakh), Rajasthan (Rs 2.76 lakh), and Tamil Nadu (Rs 2 lakh) were among the states that tapped more funds per work.
AGRO-PROCESSING
The agro-processing industry presents a viable pathway for rural development, acting as a bridge between agricultural production and industrial manufacturing. According to the report, this sector has the potential to expedite the shift towards crop diversification in regions like Punjab and Haryana, where the cultivation of paddy is facing critical challenges due to the depletion of groundwater resources.
Crop diversification is also an essential aspect of managing crop residues effectively. Experts have been stressing that by adopting diverse cropping patterns, farmers can reduce stubble burning, a practice that has emerged as a major environmental issue in recent years. Despite the persistent continuation of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana which leads to a deterioration in air quality annually following the paddy harvest, the implementation of crop diversification strategies could contribute to a reduction in the amount of paddy stubble generated.
The Crop Residue Management Scheme, initiated by the central government in 2018-19, aims to assist Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in tackling air pollution by subsidising the necessary machinery for managing crop residue. The scheme also provides financial support for conducting extensive demonstrations of the bio-decomposer on agricultural lands. Through the implementation of in-situ and ex-situ management strategies for paddy straw, the occurrences of paddy stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh showed a significant reduction of 24% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
E-NAM EFFECTIVE
Research aimed at assessing the effectiveness and potential of e-NAM found that the platform positively influenced farmers by facilitating better prices for their agricultural produce, thereby achieving a key goal.