The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for six major Rabi crops, with the revised rates expected to result in an estimated payout of ₹90,962 crore during the 2027-28 marketing season.
The crops covered under the MSP revision include wheat, barley, gram, lentil, rapeseed-mustard and safflower. The government said the move is aimed at ensuring remunerative returns for farmers and encouraging crop diversification.
Safflower received the highest absolute MSP increase of ₹675 per quintal, followed by rapeseed and mustard with an increase of ₹413 per quintal. The MSP for lentil has been raised by ₹390 per quintal, barley by ₹136 per quintal, gram by ₹83 per quintal and wheat by ₹25 per quintal.
MSP revision aimed at improving farm returns
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs said the MSP hike follows the government’s Budget 2018-19 commitment to fix MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production.
According to the CCEA, wheat will provide the highest margin over production cost at 106%, followed by rapeseed and mustard at 96%, lentil at 92%, gram at 59%, barley at 58% and safflower at 50%.
The government said the revised MSP structure would provide farmers with improved price assurance and encourage cultivation of pulses and oilseeds instead of focusing only on cereals.
Procurement and MSP payments rise
The government has been promoting crops such as pulses and oilseeds through higher MSP support in recent years. Procurement figures show a significant rise in purchases during the period from 2014-15 to 2025-26 compared with the previous decade.
Wheat procurement increased to 3,715 lakh tonnes during 2014-15 to 2025-26, compared with 2,254 lakh tonnes between 2004-05 and 2013-14. Procurement of the six Rabi crops also rose to 3,921 lakh tonnes during 2014-15 to 2025-26 from 2,302 lakh tonnes in the earlier period.
The CCEA said MSP payments to wheat farmers increased to ₹7.31 lakh crore during 2014-15 to 2025-26, compared with ₹2.56 lakh crore during 2004-05 to 2013-14.
For farmers growing the six Rabi crops, MSP payments rose to ₹8.36 lakh crore during 2014-15 to 2025-26 from ₹2.65 lakh crore in the previous period, the government added.
