JOIN USPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a 150% rise in minimum support price (MSP)for Kharif crop this season. The hike of 150% will be affected by the production cost of farmers. The Union Cabinet will take a decision to this effect in its next meeting on Wednesday.
The prime minister informed this to farmers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Maharashtra and Karnataka in his meeting with them late Friday evening.
He also said that within the next two weeks, the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane for the sugar season of 2018-19, will also be announced.
He said that this will also be higher than the 2017-18 price. It will also provide an incentive for those farmers whose recovery from sugarcane will be higher than 9.5%.
His decision has sparked fears of rising inflation in the coming months. The Reserve Bank of India has already flagged concerns on the inflationary pressure over any rise in MSP.
The prime minister apprised the farmers about the various decisions taken to liquidate the arrears of sugarcane farmers. In the last seven to ten days itself, more than Rs 4,000 crore of arrears have been given to the farmers as a result of new policy measures enforced, Modi said.
He further assured the farmers that state governments have been requested to take effective measures for the liquidation of cane arrears.
Modi also apprised farmers of his recent interactions with corporates, where he has called for greater private sector investment for value addition, warehousing, storage facilities, better quality seeds, and market linkages for improving farmers income.