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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved higher Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all six mandated rabi crops for the 2027-28 marketing season, with the government giving substantially larger increases to oilseeds and lentils while raising the support price for wheat by just Rs 25 per quintal.
The decision, taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was announced by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the cabinet briefing. Safflower received the highest absolute increase of Rs 675 per quintal, followed by rapeseed and mustard at Rs 413 and lentil, or masur, at Rs 390 per quintal. The MSP for barley has been raised by Rs 136 per quintal and gram by Rs 83, while wheat received the smallest increase at Rs 25 per quintal. Based on the revised prices, wheat MSP will rise to Rs 2,610 per quintal from Rs 2,585 for the previous marketing season. Barley will rise to Rs 2,286, gram to Rs 5,958, lentil to Rs 7,390, rapeseed and mustard to Rs 6,613 and safflower to Rs 7,215 per quintal. The relatively larger increases for pulses and oilseeds come as the Centre continues to push crop diversification and greater domestic production of commodities where India has relied on imports. The government has in recent years used higher MSPs and procurement support to encourage farmers to move beyond cereals towards pulses and oilseeds. The latest increase also marks a sharp slowdown in the MSP hike for wheat. For the 2026-27 rabi marketing season, the government had increased wheat MSP by Rs 160 per quintal to Rs 2,585. In that season, safflower received a Rs 600 increase, lentil Rs 300 and rapeseed and mustard Rs 250 per quintal. The government said the latest MSPs continue to follow the policy announced in the Union Budget 2018-19 of fixing support prices at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production. For 2027-28, the expected margin over the weighted average production cost is estimated at 106 per cent for wheat, 96 per cent for rapeseed and mustard, 92 per cent for lentil, 59 per cent for gram, 58 per cent for barley and 50 per cent for safflower. MSP acts as a government-announced floor price for notified crops. Procurement mechanisms differ across commodities. Wheat is procured extensively for the central pool, while pulses and oilseeds can be procured under the Price Support Scheme when market prices fall below MSP, subject to the applicable procurement framework. The government has also provided for procurement of tur, urad and masur under its push for greater self-sufficiency in pulses. According to the Cabinet release, wheat procurement during 2014-15 to 2025-26 stood at 3,715 lakh metric tonnes, compared with 2,254 lakh metric tonnes during 2004-05 to 2013-14. Procurement across six rabi crops rose to 3,921 lakh metric tonnes during 2014-15 to 2025-26 from 2,302 lakh metric tonnes in the preceding comparable period. The government said MSP payments to wheat growers amounted to Rs 7.31 lakh crore during 2014-15 to 2025-26, while payments across all six rabi crops stood at Rs 8.36 lakh crore during the period. (ANI)
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