The government of India will make all efforts to waive the penalty on excess tobacco produced by tobacco farmers, said Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal during a meeting with farmers and traders of tobacco in Hyderabad on Saturday.

The minister assured tobacco traders and farmers that all issues faced by tobacco farmers and industry stakeholders will be addressed, adding that PM Modi is sensitive towards farmers’ issues.

“PM Narendra Modi is very sensitive towards farmers, and our government will do everything to protect their interests. All efforts will be made to waive the penalty on excess tobacco produced by the farmers,” he said.

During the meeting, he also promised that the government would address the staff shortage issue in the Tobacco Board immediately. He added that the period of validity of registration will be increased from 1 year to 3 years, starting from the next season onwards for all tobacco farmers.

Currently, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and as per the Tobacco Board rules under the Tobacco Board Act, 1975, every certificate of registration or renewal of registration is valid only for the year it was granted.

He also urged the tobacco farmers to avail themselves of the 3 per cent interest subvention facility under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund on the loans farmers take from banks at a 9 per cent interest rate.

“I urge the farming community to avail themselves of the interest subvention facility under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, through which the Department of Agriculture provides a 3 per cent interest subsidy,” he said.

He also encouraged the farmers to register themselves online. However, the minister noted that offline registration is also available for the benefit of small farmers.