Union Budget 2021: Business-as-usual for agriculture when a change in orientation was much-needed The finance minister was at pains to emphasise that the Narendra Modi government had doubled the spending on wheat procurement and nearly tripled that on rice procurement since it assumed office in 2014 Vivian Fernandes February 02, 2021 15:50:47 IST Representational image courtesy Pixabay Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said her Budget rested on six pillars and one of the goals was to double farmers’ income. But there was little in her Budget speech to change the direction of agriculture, which not only needs to be market-oriented and competitive but also environmentally benign and resilient to climate stresses.