The government has so far purchased around 2.61 lakh tonnes of pulses and 3.17 lakh tonnes of oilseeds from farmers worth Rs 2,682 crore during the ongoing marketing season of rabi (winter) crops under the Price Support Scheme (PSS). The PSS is operationalised on state governments' request when prices fall below the minimum support price (MSP).
The procurement is undertaken by nodal agencies like Nafed at minimum support price (MSP). Only fair average quality commodity is purchased. However, in view of COVID-19 pandemic, the daily procurement limit has been increased from 25 quintals to 40 quintals per day under PSS for rabi crops.
The Union Agriculture Ministry has said oilseeds and pulses have been purchased at MSP value of Rs 2,682 crore, benefitting 3,25,565 farmers. Of the total procurement so far, about 14,859 tonnes of pulses and 6,706 tonnes of oilseeds were purchased on May 1-2 in six states namely Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.