20 June 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : The Minimum Support Price (MSP) of 14 kharif crops announced by the NDA government on Wednesday stuck to the suggestions made by its expert body, Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP).
Paddy (common variety) MSP was increased by 5.4% over the previous year to Rs 2300/ quintal. It’s 150% of the average all-India cost for a quintal. Cost here includes actual expenses towards inputs and imputed family labour.
It’s this manner of cost calculation that was the source of friction between the Modi 2.0 government and some sections of farmers. These farmers want the government to use a benchmark which adds rental value of owned land and interest on fixed capital to the way in which costs are calculated to fix MSP. Modi 2.0 found the demand unreasonable and didn’t budge. Neither have farmers backed down.