India, June 2 -- Heralding a new chapter in agricultural market reforms in India, on May 15 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made three major announcements under the "Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan." The first announcement was about the Centre's decision to enact a legislation to enable direct purchase of specified commodities - under entry 42 of the Union List and entry 33 of the Concurrent List - from farmers outside the designated Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs). Next was the move to enact a Central law on contract farming to provide a legal framework for farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, large retailers and exporters in a fair and transparent manner. Third was the decision to amend the Essential Commoditie...