Govt to procure pulses if mkt rates fall below MSP

The government will procure pulses at minimum support price (MSP) from farmers if market rates fall below MSP, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said.
"The Government has made provision to ascertain the sale of pulses on support price for the farmers. Under this provision, wherever the market price of the pulses falls below the support price, the government of India ascertain support price for the farmers," Singh said in an official release.
Apart from this, he said the government has also decided to maintain a buffer stock of pulses to the extent of 20 lakh tonne so that people could be provided pulses are reasonable prices when market prices escalate.

Singh was addressing the closing ceremony of International Pulses Year, 2016 in Agra today.
The General Assembly of United Nations had decided to celebrate the year 2016 as International Pulses Year to make the common people aware of the nutritional properties in pulses.
Singh said the government has increased minimum support price of the pulses to promote the cultivation and production of pulses.

He said the government has taken a number of measures for International Pulses Year, 2016 to increase the production and productivity of pulse crops in the country.
The Centre has laid down a target of 200 lakh tonne production for the year 2016-17, 210 lakh tonne for year 2017-18 and 240 lakh tonne for year 2020-21.

Singh said that additional "breeder seed" production programmes have been launched with the cost of Rs 20.39 crores at Regional Centres of 10 Agricultural Universities with Indian Pulses Research Institute, Kanpur.
Singh said these steps have been taken to strengthen the formal seed mechanism of pulse crops and to increase availability of seeds of improved varieties in the country.
He said 'pulse seed hubs' are being established in State Agriculture Universities, Institutes of the Council and Agriculture Scientific Centres of major pulse producing States of the country.