Prime Minister Modi’s Cabinet Approves PM-AASHA Scheme to Help Farmers and Control Prices
The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) scheme. This scheme aims to provide fair prices to farmers and control the price changes of essential goods for consumers.
The government will spend Rs 35,000 crore on this scheme until 2025-26. PM-AASHA combines the Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) to better serve farmers and consumers. This integrated scheme will help ensure farmers get good prices for their crops and keep essential goods affordable for everyone.
PM-AASHA includes several components:
- Price Support Scheme (PSS)
- Price Stabilization Fund (PSF)
- Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS)
- Market Intervention Scheme (MIS)
Starting from the 2024-25 season, the government will buy 25% of the national production of notified pulses, oilseeds, and copra at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). However, for Tur, Urad, and Masur, the government will buy 100% of the production in the 2024-25 season.
The government has also increased its guarantee to Rs 45,000 crore for buying these crops at MSP. This will help the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) buy more crops from farmers, including those registered on the eSamridhi and eSamyukti portals, whenever market prices fall below MSP.
The Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) will help protect consumers from extreme price changes by maintaining a buffer stock of pulses and onions. This will discourage hoarding and speculation and ensure affordable prices for consumers. The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) will buy pulses at market prices, including from pre-registered farmers on the eSamridhi and eSamyukti portals, whenever prices are above MSP.
The PSF scheme also covers other crops like tomatoes and includes subsidized retail sales of Bharat Dals, Bharat Atta, and Bharat Rice.
The Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS) for notified oilseeds will now cover 40% of state production, up from 25%, and the implementation period has been extended from 3 to 4 months. The central government will cover the difference between MSP and sale price, limited to 15% of MSP.
The Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) will now cover 25% of production, up from 20%, and includes a new option for direct payments to farmers’ accounts instead of physical procurement. For Tomato, Onion, and Potato (TOP) crops, the government will cover transportation and storage costs to ensure fair prices for farmers and affordable prices for consumers.
Doubts Revealed
Prime Minister Modi -: Prime Minister Modi is the leader of India. He makes important decisions for the country.
Union Cabinet -: The Union Cabinet is a group of top leaders in the government who help the Prime Minister make decisions.
PM-AASHA scheme -: PM-AASHA is a plan by the government to help farmers get fair prices for their crops and keep food prices stable.
Rs 35,000 crore -: Rs 35,000 crore is a very large amount of money that the government will spend to help farmers and control prices.
Price Support Scheme -: This is a part of PM-AASHA that helps farmers by buying their crops at a fair price.
Price Stabilization Fund -: This fund helps keep the prices of important goods steady so they don’t become too expensive.
Price Deficit Payment Scheme -: This scheme gives money to farmers if the market price of their crops is lower than a set price.
Market Intervention Scheme -: This scheme helps control prices by buying and selling goods in the market to keep them affordable.