Fears over inflation due to MSP hike misplaced: Food Minister Badal

Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said fears of price rise due to significant hike in MSP are misplaced as Modi-government has managed to keep a tight check over prices.

Talking to reporters here, she said for the last four years, Narendra Modi led government has controlled inflation.

Till UPA's time, she said, the prices of pulses had gone up to Rs 150 a kg.

"The food inflation that time had skyrocketed. Now price of pulses have fallen to Rs 50 a kilo. We are very confident that our government will keep a tight check on inflation in days ahead," Badal said.

The government today hiked the minimum support price for paddy by a record Rs 200 per quintal that will cost the exchequer over Rs 15,000 crore, and help fulfil its poll promise to give farmers 50 per cent more rate than their cost of production.

The previous highest hike in paddy MSP was Rs 170 a quintal in 2012-13 under the UPA-II regime. In the last four years, the NDA government has raised the paddy MSP between Rs 50-80 per quintal.

The decision, taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came less than a year before next general election.

Badal further said that there should be no concern over fiscal slippage on account of MSP hike as revenue collection is improving following GST implementation and buoyancy in direct tax mop up.

She also criticised the Congress for not doing enough for improving condition of farmers in the country.

While the BJP had promised in 2014 to give farmers a price of 1.5 times of cost, an announcement to give effect to the promise was made in the government's fifth and final annual Budget presented on February 1 this year.