Govt to procure pulses, oilseeds under Price Support Scheme in four states

• Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan approved large-scale procurement of pulses and oilseeds at Minimum Support Price (MSP) for four states on June 18. 

• The procurement will be undertaken under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, ensuring remunerative prices for farmers and protecting them from distress sales.

• The Centre’s decision is being viewed as a significant step in the interest of pulse and oilseed farmers, as it will ensure the benefits of MSP and provide relief from market price pressures.

• Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the decision. 

• For the Summer 2026 season, procurement of 48,298 metric tonnes (MT) of moong, 97,970 MT of urad and 41,718 MT of groundnut has been approved for the state. 

• The total MSP value of these approvals exceeds Rs 1,490 crore. 

• The decision is expected to provide significant support to pulse and oilseed growers in the state.

Price Support Scheme

• The government of India is implementing the integrated scheme Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), which encompasses Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS), Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), and Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF). 

• The overarching objective of this initiative is to ensure assured and remunerative prices for farmers’ agricultural produce, thereby protecting their income and securing their livelihood against market fluctuations. 

• PSS is implemented as and when the market prices of notified pulses and oilseeds & copra fall below the notified MSP during peak harvesting period to provide the remunerative price to the farmers.

• Procurement under the PSS is undertaken by National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF).