{"id":98179,"date":"2026-04-14T10:59:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=98179"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:59:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T05:29:37","slug":"biometric-verification-in-mandis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/biometric-verification-in-mandis\/","title":{"rendered":"Biometric Verification in Mandis: Why Biometric Verification Triggered Haryana Farmers Protest"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Biometric Verification in Mandis Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A section of farmers in Haryana protested against the mandatory biometric verification for selling crops in mandis, blocking highways and alleging it creates harassment and procedural hurdles.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state government, however, defended the move as a step to enhance transparency and accountability in the procurement system.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Mandi System in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Mandi system is India&#8217;s <\/span><b>regulated<\/b> <b>agricultural marketplace framework<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where farmers bring their produce for sale through a structured auction process.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These mandis (wholesale markets) are established under the <\/span><b>Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Acts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> enacted by <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">individual state governments<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The APMC Act designates specific geographical areas as market yards, and all agricultural trade within that area must compulsorily pass through the regulated mandi.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Middlemen called arhatiyas (commission agents) facilitate transactions between farmers and buyers, charging a commission on every sale.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Issues and Challenges\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Structural Problems<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mandi system has long been criticised for creating a monopoly of middlemen.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The middlemen often advance loans to farmers, creating a cycle of debt bondage where farmers are compelled to sell exclusively through their creditor-agent regardless of price.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fragmented Market and Multiple Levies<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s mandi system is highly fragmented \u2014 a trader operating across states must obtain separate licences in each state and pay multiple layers of taxes including market fees, commission charges, and various local levies.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This fragmentation increases transaction costs and discourages private investment in agricultural marketing infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Price Realisation Gap<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmers typically receive only 30-40% of the final consumer price of their produce, with the remainder absorbed by the chain of intermediaries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the current setup, farmers are often <\/span><b>price-takers rather than price-setters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation especially during periods of surplus production.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Infrastructure Deficits<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many mandis suffer from inadequate storage, cold chain facilities, and processing infrastructure.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poor road connectivity to mandis, lack of weighing equipment, and absence of grading and sorting facilities result in significant <\/span><b>post-harvest losses<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Information Asymmetry<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmers \u2014 particularly small and marginal ones \u2014 lack access to real-time price information, making them heavily dependent on the arhatiya for price discovery.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Government Efforts at Reform and Integration<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Launched in April 2016, <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/what-is-national-agriculture-market-e-nam\/\" target=\"_blank\">e-NAM<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an <\/span><b>online trading portal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that networks existing APMC mandis across the country into a unified national market.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Model APMC Act, 2003<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The central government circulated a Model APMC Act encouraging states to amend their legislations to allow direct purchase from farmers, establishment of private markets, and promotion of contract farming.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, adoption across states was uneven, with several states making only cosmetic changes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Gramin Haats and <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/primary-agricultural-credit-society-pacs\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The government has been upgrading 22,000 Gramin Haats (rural periodical markets) into Farmer-Consumer Markets to enable direct farm-to-consumer trade, bypassing intermediaries.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simultaneously, PACS are being strengthened to provide collective bargaining power to small farmers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Haryana\u2019s Biometric Procurement System in Mandis<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Introduced in 2026, Haryana\u2019s procurement system mandates <\/span><b>Aadhaar-based fingerprint verification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for farmers before selling crops in mandis, linked to the \u201c<\/span><b>Meri Fasal-Mera Byora<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d portal to ensure accurate registration and prevent discrepancies.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The system also includes vehicle tracking, requiring tractor details and photos, and geofencing of procurement centres and storage points to enhance monitoring and prevent misuse.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So far, hundreds of mandis and over a thousand storage locations have been brought under this digital oversight framework.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Reason Behind Biometric Verification in Haryana Mandis<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biometric verification system was introduced following the <\/span><b>2025 Karnal paddy scam<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fake gate passes were used to sell paddy from other states in Haryana mandis<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This led to fraudulent procurement records and siphoning of government funds, involving officials, traders, and millers.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scam resulted in multiple FIRs and arrests, prompting the government to implement biometric verification to prevent such fraud and ensure transparency in procurement.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Farmers\u2019 Concerns Over Biometric Verification<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmers argue that procurement irregularities were due to <\/span><b>collusion among officials and millers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, not farmers themselves, yet the new system places the burden on them.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They report long queues, slow verification, and procedural hassles, especially when the registered farmer cannot be physically present.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many see the process as excessive and humiliating, with union leaders calling it overly cumbersome and farmers feeling they are being treated with undue suspicion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Government\u2013Opposition Divide on Biometric Procurement<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Haryana government defends biometric verification as a tool to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency, noting significant adoption in wheat procurement.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has also introduced relaxations, such as allowing nominated individuals and flexible vehicle documentation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, opposition leaders criticise the system as bureaucratic and arbitrary, arguing it unfairly burdens farmers while ignoring the real issue of collusion among officials and traders.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source: <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/haryana-biometric-crop-sale-rule-protests-10633794\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/agriculture\/the-mandi-system-will-eventually-collapse-rakesh-tikait-on-new-farm-laws-73484\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">DTE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biometric verification in mandis sparked protests in Haryana. Biometric verification aims to improve transparency but farmers say it creates hurdles and harassment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":98211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[6842,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-98179","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-biometric-verification-in-mandis","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98179"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98210,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98179\/revisions\/98210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}