MSP hike: Raman Singh hails Centre's 'historic decision'

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], Jul 4 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Wednesday welcomed the hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Kharif crops.
Briefing media here, Singh said, "On behalf of the Chhattisgarh government, legislators, 2.5 crore people and farmers, especially, this is is a historic decision made by (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's government. A new history has been made. This is a gift for the farmers."
He added that the hike was done for the welfare of the farmers and as per the promise made in the Union Budget.
Singh further said, "Hike of MSP in paddy, soybeans and maize is vital for the farmers. This will help to boost the income of the farmers by 2022. About 12 crore farmers in the country will be benefitted by this decision. Farmers will earn money and they will become more motivated."
The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister underscored that the decision will also give a boost economy of his state.
Adding that the decision will be a 'turning point' for the farmers in the country, Singh further added, "We have always raised the issues of farmers. This shows that the Modi government is committed towards working to fulfill the promises of the farmers. We will celebrate the decision grandly."
He stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers will hold rallies in different parts of the state to thank Prime Minister Modi for undertaking the decision to hike the MSP of Kharif crops.
Earlier in the day, in order to boost the income of the farmers, the Union Cabinet approved the MSP for 14 Kharif crops for the year 2018-19.
The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi approved the proposal made by Union Minister Arun Jaitley in the Budget 2018 of hiking the support price by one-and-a-half times of the production cost for Kharif crops.
MSP is referred to a price at which the government buys crops from the farmers, to protect agriculture producers from fall in farm prices.
The MSP for paddy has been increased by around Rs 200 per quintal, jowar (hybrid) by Rs 730 per quintal and ragi by Rs 997 per quintal.
The MSP of paddy (common grade) has been increased by Rs 200 to Rs 1,750 per quintal, while that of Grade A variety by Rs 160 per quintal to Rs 1,750.
The MSP of medium staple cotton has been increased to Rs 5,150 from Rs 4,020 earlier, and that of long staple cotton to Rs 5,450 from Rs 4,320 per quintal.
In pulses, MSP of tur dal has been raised to Rs 5,675 per quintal from Rs 5,450, while that of moong dal to Rs 6,975 per quintal from Rs 5,575.
In his 2018 Budget speech, Jaitley had announced that think-tank Niti Aayog in consultation with central and state governments will put in place a mechanism to ensure farmers get benefits of the minimum support price.
Since 2007-08, the MSP has gone up from Rs 745 to Rs 1550 per quintal.
In 2008-09, the MSP was increased from Rs 745 per quintal in the previous fiscal year (FY) to Rs 900 per quintal (an increase of Rs 155 per quintal). Rs 100 per quintal on MSP was also raised by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in FY 2009-10. (ANI)