Analysis-Modi's farm reform reversal to deter investment in India's agriculture

FILE PHOTO: Farmers gather to mark the first anniversary of their protests on the outskirts of Delhi at Pakora Chowk near Tikri border, India, November 26, 2021. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's repeal of agriculture laws aimed at deregulating produce markets will starve its vast farm sector of much-needed private investment and saddle the government with budget-sapping subsidies for years, economists said.

Late last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government introduced three laws meant to open up agriculture markets to companies and attract private investment, triggering India's longest-running protest by farmers who said the reforms would allow corporations to exploit them.