Sharma added that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has laid special emphasis on agriculture and so has the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in the last five years.

In this connection, he cited the loan waivers given by the government to farmers in distress.

'We have seen a period when farmers have been in distress. I am not here to suggest that there is no distress at all today. But steps have been taken for an inclusive approach to the problem to embrace the rural population in the markets.'

Mentioning the Rs.710-billion farm loan waiver scheme, Sharma said: 'The government sought out even those farmers who had not taken any loan from financial institutions, but from private money-lenders, while encouraging nationalised banks to substitute those loans.'