KISAN DIWAS 2021

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Context

Indian National Farmers Day is celebrated every year on December 23, which is also the birth anniversary of the country's fifth Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

About

Importance of agriculture in Indian economy

Almost half of India’s rural households have insignificant stakes in agriculture.
According to 2019 Situation Assessment Survey (SAS), there are 93.1 million agricultural households in rural India.
An agricultural household is defined as one which produced field or horticultural crops, livestock, or other specified agricultural products worth more than Rs 4,000 and had a member self-employed in agriculture in the 365 days preceding the survey.

Significance of Kisan Diwas

The day celebrates the farmers and their work in the country.
It marks the contribution of the former prime minister to the agricultural reforms of India.

Contribution made by Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh

Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence, Singh entered the Independence movement.
After Independence, he associated himself with socialism in rural areas.
He was the chief architect of land reforms in Uttar Pradesh.
He took a leading part in the formulation and finalisation of the Debt Redemption Bill 1939, which brought great relief to rural debtors.
He was also instrumental in bringing about the Land Holding Act, 1960 which was aimed at lowering the ceiling on land holdings to make it uniform throughout the State.
Singh was given the sobriquet ‘Champion of India’s Peasants’ for his work towards upliftment of farmers and development of agriculture throughout the country.
He also authored several books on farmers' upliftment.
Some prominent titles are - ‘Abolition of Zamindari’, ‘Co-operative Farming X’, ‘Prevention of Division of Holdings Below a Certain Minimum’.
He became Prime Minister of India in