Centre has offered to guarantee that its agencies will buy cotton, corn & certain pulses at MSP for 5 years. SKM says govt silent on formula to calculate MSP & farmers’ other demands.
MSP for mustard is up 8.6%, followed by masur (7.84%) and gram (2.54%). Wheat MSP has just risen by 2.02%, as govt attempts to encourage crop diversification.
Maximum MSP hike has been for oilseed sesame, which was raised by Rs 452/quintal — a 6.59 per cent hike from last year — the highest among all crops this year.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar tells ThePrint he doesn’t view the protesting farmers as Khalistanis & that govt is ready to address all their objections and reservations.
Govt data says export of non-basmati rice declines by over 37% — from 50,48,000 MT in April-November 2018 to 31,41,000 MT during same period last year.
In tactical terms, the shirtless protest was worse than a self-goal. Suddenly, the fiascos of the AI Summit were forgotten, and the Youth Congress’s disruption became the issue.
IAF is fine with accepting the aircraft with 'must-haves', even if some other steps remain pending, which may take at least another year, it is learnt.
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