Telangana has come a long way since its formation in 2014. While development is often measured through indicators such as state gross domestic product, per capita income and soaring skylines, one statistic perhaps reflects the state’s transformation more meaningfully than the skyscrapers rising across Hyderabad—the number of farmer suicides. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report for 2024 released this month, Telangana recorded zero farmer suicides for the first time since its inception.
The fact that 898 and 1,358 such tragedies were recorded in the state’s first two years underscores how far Telangana has progressed. True, not every case may find its way into official records, but even after accounting for underreporting, the achievement is significant. Farmer distress in the state today is nowhere near the life-and-death crisis that prevailed a decade ago. Credit must therefore go, cutting across party lines, to successive governments—including the present Congress dispensation—for placing farmers’ welfare at the forefront through measures such as crop loan waivers, irrigation and canal projects, investment support and crop procurement initiatives. In addition, a wide range of welfare schemes has played a crucial role in easing what was once a deeply distressing situation.
Nonetheless, the root cause—debt trap—remains far from being permanently resolved. The previous BRS government announced farm loan waivers of up to ₹1 lakh in 2014 and again in 2018, while the Congress, that assumed office in late 2023, raised the waiver limit to ₹2 lakh. Together, they have cost the exchequer at least ₹40,000 crore. Such interventions became necessary due to recurring drought-like conditions, crop failures and mounting debt. Staggered implementation of the waivers also created hardships for sections of farmers. The only sustainable way to ease their distress is to make agriculture profitable—a long-cherished dream—while expanding crop insurance coverage and credit lines. It would also require greater synergy between the government and farmers in areas such as cropping patterns.
There is, however, another side to the story. The NCRB data does not separately account for agricultural labourers, who are classified under daily wagers. In Telangana, suicides among daily wagers stood at 5,745 in 2024, though it remains unclear how many were linked to agriculture. So, while the state certainly has reason to take heart from the decline in farmer suicides, it also has ample reason to guard against complacency.
