Govt Forms Panel to Examine Ways to Strengthen MSP System

The government has formed a committee to investigate ways to strengthen the minimum support price (MSP) system for farmers in the future, Agriculture Minister of State Kailash Choudhary said in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

"A committee on diversification, natural farming, and MSP has been formed," the minister said in response to a question during Question Hour. He added that it includes farmer representatives, state government representatives, and central government officials.

According to the minister, the committee will look into ways to strengthen the MSP system and how farmers can benefit from the support price mechanism.

The committee's recommendations will be considered by the government, he added. Choudhary was responding to a question from Tiruchi Siva (DMK), who wanted to know if the government planned to raise the MSP to 200 percent of farmers' production costs.

The committee's chairman is former Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agrawal. In response to a separate question from KR Suresh Reddy (TRS), Choudhary stated that agricultural budgetary allocation has been increasing year on year and has now reached Rs 1.32 lakh crore.

"The agriculture budget has increased from Rs 27,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 1.32 lakh crore," the minister said. He stated that India is among the top ten countries in terms of agri-funding allocation.

Choudhary also informed the House that Telangana received Rs 15,985 crore from the agricultural infrastructure fund for the fiscal year 2021-22.

Deputy Chairman Harivansh informed the members that M Venkaiah Naidu would be leaving the House on August 8. "As a result, there will be no Zero Hour on that day to allow party leaders and others to make farewell speeches," he said. On August 10, Rajya Sabha Chairman Naidu will step down.