The government on Wednesday raised the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy by Rs 72 per quintal to Rs 1,940 per quintal for the 2021-22 crop year, while the rates of other kharif crops were also hiked.
Many other decisions were also taken in the meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that in the meeting, it has been decided to declare the MSP of Kharif crops. The price of paddy which is of normal level was Rs 1,868 per quintal, in 2021-22 it has become Rs 1,940 per quintal. Bajra which was Rs 2,150 per quintal in 2020-21 has now become Rs 2,250 per quintal. He said that the highest increase in MSP has been done in sesame (Rs 452per quintal) as compared to last year. This is followed by tur and urad (both Rs 300 per quintal).
Giving this information, Tomar said that the Central government has decided to increase the MSP on Kharif crops by 50 percent. The Agriculture Minister said that in the last 7 years, big decisions have been taken in favour of the farmers so that the income of the farmers can increase. He insisted that the Centre has been taking decisions in the interest of farmers for the last seven years and is ready at all times to discuss solutions to their problems.
Giving information about the decisions of the Cabinet, Union I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar said, “Railways will be provided 5 MHz spectrum in the 700 MHz band. With this the railways will improve its communication system and will make rail travel safer.” The Railways currently uses optical fiber. The availability of spectrum will lead to radio communication.
He also said that Rs 25,000 crore will be spent in the next 5 years on signal modernisation and spectrum implementation in the Railways. With amendments to Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, the extension of the sponsorship of the New Investment Policy (NIP)-2012 has also been approved.