ABSTRACT

Removal of power subsidies in the agriculture sector has been a very contentious issue in India for decades. Free power and tariffs based on the connected load create incentives for farmers to use groundwater excessively and inefficiently. We argue that a pro rata tariff for electricity in the farm sector that reduces the demand for electricity and irrigation water will not only be socio-economically viable but also improve farm economy and the viability of the power sector. We also propose the use of information and communications technology to reduce the transaction cost of metering of agro wells.

中文翻译：

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在不伤害农民的情况下固定农业电价

摘要

几十年来，取消农业部门的电力补贴一直是印度一个非常有争议的问题。基于连接负载的免费电力和关税会激励农民过度和低效地使用地下水。我们认为，减少对电力和灌溉用水需求的农业部门按比例征收的电费不仅在社会经济上可行，而且还可以改善农业经济和电力部门的生存能力。我们还建议使用信息和通信技术来降低农业井计量的交易成本。