Govt hikes wheat MSP by Rs 100/qtl; pulses by up to 550/qtl
New Delhi, (PTI) The government today increased the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 100 to Rs 1,625 a quintal and pulses by up to Rs 550 per quintal to boost output of these rabi crops and check prices. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all rabi (winter- sown) crops of 2016-17. The CCEA has approved Rs 100 per quintal hike in wheat MSP to Rs 1,625 per quintal for the 2016-17 rabi crop against Rs 1,525 per quintal last year. "Wheat has been hiked by 6.6 per cent, barley 8.2 per cent and including bonus, gram 14.3 per cent, masur 16.2 per cent, rapeseed/mustard 10.4 per cent, safflower 12.1 per cent," an official spokesperson said. "Further, to incentivise cultivation of pulses and oilseeds, a bonus on these crops over MSP has been announced," he added. Gram MSP has been hiked to Rs 4,000 per quintal, including bonus, from Rs 3,500 per quintal in the previous year, while support ptice of masur has been raised to Rs 3,950 per quintal from Rs 3,400 per quintal. The Agriculture Ministry had proposed the support price of gram and masoor at Rs 4,000 per quintal each, including bonus, for the rabi season to boost domestic output, reduce the country's dependence on imports, and check prices. Last year, gram and masur MSPs were fixed at Rs 3,500 and Rs 3,400 per quintal, respectively, after including Rs 75 per quintal bonus each. The MSP is the rate at which government buys the grain from farmers. Rabi crops will be marketed in 2017-18 starting April. The government is targeting 20.75 million tonnes of pulses production this year on account of good monsoon. It expects 13.5 mt of output from the ensuing rabi season while 8.7 mt is estimated to have been harvested in the just-completed kharif season. Mustard MSP has been hiked to Rs 3,700 per quintal, including bonus, from Rs 3,350 in the previous year, while safflower's support price has been increased by Rs 400 to Rs 3,700 per quintal. Barley's MSP has been raised by Rs 100 to Rs 1,325 per quintal. "The approval to increase MSPs is based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)," an official statement said. "The recommendation of CACP being the expert body is generally accepted as such. But to incentivise cultivation of pulses and oilseeds, the Cabinet has decided to give a bonus of Rs 200 per quintal for gram, a bonus of Rs 150 per quintal for masur/lentil and a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal each for rabi oilseeds viz. Rapeseeds/mustards and safflower, over and above the recommendations of CACP." Stating that there is an increasing gap between the domestic demand and supply of pulses and oilseeds, the government said it has announced this bonus on pulses and oilseeds to give a strong price signal to farmers to increase acreage and invest for increase in productivity of these crops. "The increase in cultivation of leguminous pulses and oilseeds will also have additional environmental benefits as these crops are less water consuming and help in nitrogen fixation in the soil," the statement said. Food Corporation of India (FCI) will be the designated central nodal agency for price support operations for cereals, pulses and oilseeds. To supplement the efforts of FCI, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED), National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF), Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and Small Farmers Agri - Business Consortium (SFAC) may also undertake procurement of oilseeds and pulses as per their capacity.
