New Delhi, February 13
Farmers of the country today got some relief from the government with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) deciding to make a provision of Rs 10 per quintal on the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat as drought relief.
The CCEA which met here this morning although decided to maintain the wheat MSP at the previous level of Rs 620 per quintal but brought in the provision of increasing the rate by Rs 10 per quintal on account of the large-scale drought witnessed through out the country last year.
The meeting was presided over by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
The relief provision will, however, not be limited just to wheat. Some other commodities have also been brought into the relief purview.
The government also decided to raise the MSP for rapeseed, mustard, gram and masur by up to Rs 30 per quintal.
Talking to mediapersons after the meeting, Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh said the MSP for rapeseed and mustard had been raised to Rs 1,330 from Rs 1,300 along with a drought relief of Rs 10. The MSP for masur and gram had been increased by Rs 20 to Rs 1,320 and 1,220, respectively, besides drought relief of Rs 5 per quintal each.
In barley, the MSP remained unchanged at Rs 500 a quintal but a special drought relief of Rs 5 a quintal was announced, he said.
The official spokesperson later said prices of other oilseeds belonging to the rapeseed and mustard group would be fixed on the basis of their normal market price differential with rapeseed and mustard.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) would continue to be the nodal agency for procurement of oilseeds and pulses, and losses, if any, will be fully reimbursed.
The higher remunerative prices to the farmers will help in increasing production and productivity.
The prices are for the marketing season of 2003-04.
