PM-ASHAA and price deficiency payment: Touted at launch, flat in practice

Both were well-intentioned but inadvertently kept several farmers out and in any case had complicated implementation protocols on MSP

As a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) takes centre stage after the repeal of the farm acts, various options are being floated to meet the demand of the protesting farmers.

One scheme that has found repeated mention in various commentaries and views is deficiency price payment. This is akin to the Bhawantar Bhugtan Yojana (BBY) started by Madhya Pradesh government a few years back to compensate farmers selling below MSP, without physical procurement of crops.

Price Deficiency Payment (PDP) is part of the broader bouquet of schemes which, collectively called PM-ASHAA or ‘Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan