NewsGate Press Network

The weekly Cabinet meeting was preceded by the all important Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) that took decision to propose the hike the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 Kharif crops for Marketing Season 2025-26.

The Cabinet held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately approved it ensuring remunerative prices to the growers for their produce, an official statement said.

The highest absolute increase in MSP over the previous year has been recommended for nigerseed (Rs 820 per quintal) followed by ragi (Rs 596 per quintal), cotton (Rs 589 per quintal) and sesamum (Rs 579 per quintal).

The I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnav who briefed media of the Cabinet decisions stated that the increase in MSP for Kharif crops is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average cost of production.

The expected margin to farmers over their cost of production are estimated to be highest in case of bajra (63%) followed by maize (59%), tur (59%) and urad (53%). For rest of the crops, margin to farmers over their cost of production is estimated to be at 50%.

It may be recalled that in the recent past the Union Government has been en the cultivation of crops, other than cereals such as pulses and oilseeds, and nutri-cereals or Shree Anna, by offering a higher MSP for these crops.