Modi Cabinet Decisions: The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (June 19) approved the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 14 Kharif crops. Announcing the decision, Ashwini Vaishnav of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said, “The Cabinet has approved the Minimum Support Price (MSP) on 14 Kharif season crops including paddy, ragi, millet, sorghum, maize and cotton.”
The Union Minister said, “Prime Minister Modi’s third term is very important as it focuses on continuity with change through several decisions for the welfare of farmers.” He said that Kharif season is starting, giving priority to farmers, the Cabinet has approved MSP on 14 crops. MSP should be at least 1.5 times. The new MSP of paddy has been made Rs 2300, which is an increase of Rs 117. The price of 2013-14 was Rs 1310.
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Apart from this, the doors of green energy have been opened. The airport in Varanasi will be expanded. A target of building 2 lakh warehouses has been set. The government will expand the Vadhavan port of Palghar with Rs 76200 crore. This is expected to create 12 lakh employment opportunities. There will be a campus of Forensic Science University in every state.
Government increased the minimum support price of 14 Kharif crops
MSP of paddy increased by ₹ 117 to ₹ 2300
Tuar dal increased by Rs 550
The central government has increased the minimum support price (MSP) of 14 Kharif crops. The Union Cabinet took this decision on Wednesday. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the new MSP of paddy has been fixed at Rs 2,300, which is Rs 117 more than the previous MSP.
The new MSP of cotton has been fixed at Rs 7,121. The new MSP of another variety of this has been fixed at Rs 7,521, which is Rs 501 more than before. Vaishnav said that 2 lakh new warehouses will also be built in the country.
The new MSP will put a burden of Rs 2 lakh crore on the government. This is Rs 35 thousand crore more than the previous crop season. The Union Minister said that the MSP should be at least 1.5 times the cost of the crop.
The Union Cabinet has also approved an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of maize and pulses. The MSP of tur dal has been approved to be increased by Rs 550 per quintal and that of urad dal by Rs 450 per quintal .
After this, the MSP of tur dal has increased to Rs 7550 per quintal and the MSP of urad dal has increased to Rs 7400 per quintal. Along with this, the MSP of maize has been increased by Rs 135 per quintal and the MSP of moong has been increased by Rs 124 per quintal.
What is MSP or Minimum Support Price?
Minimum support price is the guaranteed price that farmers get for their crops. Even if the price of that crop is low in the market. The logic behind this is that the fluctuations in the prices of crops in the market should not affect the farmers. They should keep getting the minimum price.
The government fixes MSP before every crop season on the recommendation of CACP i.e. Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. If there is a bumper yield of a crop, then its market prices are low, then MSP works as a fixed assured price for them. In a way, it works like an insurance policy that protects farmers when prices fall.
MSP covers 23 crops:
- 7 types of cereals (rice, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley)
- 5 types of pulses (chana, arhar/tuar, urad, moong and masoor)
- 7 Oilseeds (rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soybean, sunflower, sesame, safflower, nigerseed)
- 4 Commercial Crops(Cotton, Sugarcane, Copra, Raw Jute)
Which crops are included in Kharif crops?
Paddy (rice), maize, jowar, bajra, moong, groundnut, sugarcane, soybean, urad, tuar, kulthi, jute, flax, cotton etc. Kharif crops are sown in June-July. They are harvested in September-October.
Other 4 decisions of the cabinet
Approval given for development of Vadhavan Port:
Vadhavan Port will be developed in Dahanu, Maharashtra. This will be a Greenfield Deepdraft Port. Its cost will be around Rs 76,200 crore. The special thing is that after the construction of this port, it will be included in the 10 largest ports of the world. It is claimed that 12 lakh people will get employment.
Offshore wind project in Tamil Nadu-Gujarat:
An investment of Rs 7,453 crore will be made for 1,000 MW offshore wind energy project. All these projects will be set up in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Union Minister Vaishnav said that India has the potential to generate about 70,000 MW of electricity in this sector.
Airport will be developed in Varanasi:
Approval has also been given to develop Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport. This includes the construction of a new terminal building, highway, underpass and runway extension. The government is going to spend Rs 2870 crore on this.
Establishment of Forensic University:
Under the National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme, Rs 2254.43 crore will be spent on creating campuses, labs and infrastructure. Campuses of the National Forensic Sciences University will be built and 9000 students will be trained in forensic sciences.
