Cabinet hikes MSP for all rabi crops; safflower gets ₹675 increase
New Delhi, September 30
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs), for all mandated Rabi crops for the Marketing Season 2027-28.
Briefing the media in New Delhi after the Union Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the decision has been taken to ensure remunerative prices for farmers for their produce. He said the highest absolute increase in MSP has been announced for safflower at 675 rupees per quintal, followed by rapeseed and mustard at 413 rupees per quintal. The Minister said the MSP for lentil, or masur, has been increased by 390 rupees per quintal, barley by 136 rupees per quintal, gram by 83 rupees per quintal and wheat by 25 rupees per quintal.
The increase in MSPs for mandated Rabi crops for the Marketing Season 2027-28 is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing MSPs at a level of at least one-and-a-half times the All-India weighted average cost of production.
The Minister said the CCEA has also approved the implementation of the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) project by the Delhi Police at an estimated cost of over one thousand 789 crore rupees, inclusive of taxes. He said the project will cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three phases over 24 months, followed by five years of operation and maintenance.
Delhi has around 71 lakh active registered vehicles. Vehicular growth has substantially outpaced the expansion of road infrastructure, while traffic regulation continues to depend significantly on fixed signal timings and manual intervention. The ITMS seeks to make better use of available road capacity by enabling traffic management to respond dynamically to actual traffic conditions.
Mr. Vaishnaw said the Cabinet also approved the PM-DHARA (PM-Developing Harmonized and Accelerated Renewable-energy Access) Scheme. He said the historic initiative will strengthen India’s intra-state transmission system to enable the evacuation of up to 135 gigawatts of renewable energy across States and Union Territories. The scheme also provides for the deployment of 50 gigawatt-hours of Battery Energy Storage Systems at the renewable energy developer or generator end, or at any other location of importance for grid flexibility. This will help address intermittency, congestion and peak-hour curtailment, as well as meet demand during non-solar hours. The Minister said the scheme will facilitate grid integration and power evacuation within the States and Union Territories.