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The government on Wednesday approved Rs 1,718.56 crore as reimbursement for price support extended under MSP operations to the Cotton Corporation of India for the procurement undertaken in the 2023-24 cotton season. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As market prices of cotton fell below MSP during the season, the government agency had to undertake MSP operations to the extent of 32.84 lakh bales, benefiting about 7.25 lakh farmers and paying about Rs 11,712 crore directly into their bank accounts, officials said. The cabinet approved incurring expenditure towards reimbursement of price support extended under Minimum Support Price operations for cotton during Cotton Season 2023-24 (October 1, 2023, to 30 September, 2024), they added. "In a significant step towards strengthening farmer welfare and advancing the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the CCEA has approved Minimum Support Price (MSP) funding of Rs ...
India's sugar production reached 26.21 million tonne so far in the ongoing 2025-26 marketing year, up by 10.5 per cent from the year-ago period, industry body ISMA said on Tuesday. The sugar output so far has exceeded the total net production of 26.12 million tonne in the full 2024-25 marketing year (October-September). The crushing was underway as 157 mills were in operation as on March 15, while 379 mills remained closed. According to Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA), mills have manufactured 26.21 million tonne of sugar as of March 15 of the 2025-26 marketing year, as against 23.72 million tonne in the year-ago period. As the sugar season advances and reaches its penultimate phase, the industry body said it continues to await an early upward revision of the Minimum Selling Price (MSP). "With production costs increasing and ex-mill realizations lagging, mills are facing mounting cash-flow pressures, leading to higher cane payment arrears," it said in a