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The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Kharif crops by 5-12.7 per cent for the 2024-25 marketing season.
The highest increases were for pulses and oilseeds, while cereals saw the lowest hikes, following a trend from the previous years.
The MSP for paddy, the main cereal grown in the Kharif season, was raised by Rs 117 per quintal. The new MSP for paddy is Rs 2,300 per quintal for the 2024-25 kharif marketing season.
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This increase is lower than the Rs 143 per quintal seen in the 2023-24 crop season (July to June). In percentage terms, the increase was 5.4 per cent, down from the 7.01 per cent increase in the previous year.
Besides paddy, the MSP increases for 2024-25 were lower than the previous year for jowar, bajra, moong, and cotton.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said the MSP hikes will result in an estimated Rs 2 trillion transfer to farmers' bank accounts based on procurement levels, which is around Rs 35,000 crore more than the previous season.
However, Professor Sudhir Panwar, a former member of UP Planning Commission, criticised the move, saying it was just a media event, pointing out to the lack of significant government procurement of crops with higher MSP than market prices, such as sunflower and tur.
