New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that farmers are getting 1.5 times of the minimum support price (MSP) on procurement of foodgrains.
In her Budget speech, the Finance Minister said that the procurement of crops will continue at the MSP.
Presenting statistics on procurement of wheat and rice on the MSP, she said that this year Rs 1,72,752 crore is estimated to be spent on procurement of paddy while Rs 63,928 crore was spent in 2013-14. On procurement of wheat, Rs 62,802 crore was spent in 2019-20 which rose to Rs 75,060 core in 2020-21 while only Rs 33,874 crore was spent for the purpose in 2013-14.
The Finance Minister said that on procurement of pulses only Rs 236 crore was spent in 2013-14 but the expenditure rose to Rs 8,285 in 2019-20 during the present government which further increased to Rs 10,530 crore in 2020-21. Hence, expenditure on procurement of pulses rose over 40 times as compared to 2013-14.
One of the two main demands of the farmers protesting at Delhi's borders for more than two months has been a legal guarantee on the MSP by the government.
While the government has reiterated that the present system of procurement of crops at the MSP will continue.