Articles from General Knowledge Today

Minimum Support Price Scheme

2013- 04- 21 08:04:17 GKToday
The Minimum Support Prices were announced by t he Government of India f or
t he f irst t ime in 1966-67 f or Wheat in t he wake of t he Green Revolut ion and
ext ended harvest , t o save t he f armers f rom deplet ing prof it s. Since t hen, t he
MSP regime has been expanded t o many crops. Minimum Support Price is t he
price at which government purchases crops f rom t he f armers, what ever may
be t he price f or t he crops. The MSP is announced by t he Government of India
f or 25 crops currently at t he beginning of each season viz. Rabi and Kharif .
Following are t he 25 crops covered by MSP:
Kharif Crops
1. Paddy
2. Jowar
3. Bajra
4. Maize
5. Ragi
6. Arhar(Tur)
7. Moong
8. Urad
9. Cot t on
10. Groundnut
11. Sunf lower Seed
12. Soyabeen Black
13. Sesamum
14. Nigerseed
Rabicrops
15. Wheat
16. Barley
17. Gram
18. Masur (Lent il)
19. Rapeseed/Must ard
20. Saf f lower
21. Toria
Ot her Crops
22. Copra
23. De-Husked Coconut
24. Jut e
25. Sugarcane
Rationale
If t here is a f all in t he prices of t he crops, af t er a bumper harvest , t he
government purchases at t he MSP and t his is t he reason t hat t he priced
cannot go below MSP. So t his direct ly helps t he f armers.
How MSP is decided?
The government decided t he support prices f or various agricult ural
commodit ies af t er t aking int o account t he f ollowing:
Recommendat ions of Commission f or Agricult ural Cost s and Prices
Views of St at e Government s
Views of Minist ries
Ot her relevant f act ors.
Note: Price Support Scheme (PSS) f or Oil seeds and Pulses
The Depart ment of Agricult ure and Cooperat ion implement s t he Price
Support Scheme f or Oil Seeds and Pulses t hrough t he Nat ional Agricult ural
Cooperat ive Market ing Federat ion of India Lt d. (NAFED). NAFED is t he nodal
procurement agency f or Oilseeds and pulses, apart f rom t he Cot t on
Corporat ion of India. So, when t he prices of oilseeds, pulses and cot t on f all
below MSP, NAFED purchases them f rom the f armers.
Current MSP