RBI clears over Rs 21,000 cr towards CCL for wheat procurement in Punjab

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday cleared a sum of Rs 21,658.73 crore towards Cash Credit Limit (CCL) up to end April-2021 for the procurement of wheat in Punjab during the ensuing rabi marketing season.

With this, the bulk of the CCL sought by the state government for the purchase of 105.60 lakh tonnes of wheat for this season has been released by the central bank, an official statement said here.

The release of the CCL would facilitate the state government in making timely payments to farmers against purchases of food grains in the current season, which would begin from April 10 and culminate on May 31, the statement said.

The central government has fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat at Rs 1,975 per quintal, hiking it by Rs 50 from last year's Rs 1,925 per quintal.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh directed the Food and Civil Supplies Department to ensure that farmers do not face any hassles in the procurement of their produce especially amid COVID-19 pandemic.