The government has increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 100 to Rs 1,625 a quintal against Rs 1,525 per quintal last year and pulses by up to Rs 550 per quintal to boost output of these rabi crops and check prices. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all rabi (winter- sown) crops of 2016-17.
Gram MSP has been hiked to Rs 4,000 per quintal, including bonus, from Rs 3,500 per quintal in the previous year, while support price of masur has been raised to Rs 3,950 per quintal from Rs 3,400 per quintal. Last year, gram and masur MSPs were fixed at Rs 3,500 and Rs 3,400 per quintal, respectively, after including Rs 75 per quintal bonus each.
The MSP is the rate at which government buys the grain from farmers. Rabi crops will be marketed in 2017-18 starting April.