SC seeks Centre’s response to plea on proper MSP for crops, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court is reviewing a petition advocating for a Minimum Support Price (MSP) that covers the weighted average production cost for farmers.
• The petition highlights the financial struggles of Indian farmers, who are often unable to sell their crops even at their production cost.
• The petition cites farmer suicides, with 17,000 reported in Maharashtra over the past five years.
• The court has issued a notice to the Central Government regarding the calculation of production costs for agricultural produce.

Detailed Insights:

• The petition argues that the current method of calculating the cost of production varies from state to state, leading to inadequate MSP rates.
• A proper MSP, based on the weighted average cost, could potentially alleviate the financial distress faced by farmers and reduce farmer suicides.
• The government's procurement process is also under scrutiny, with the petition suggesting that procurement should occur at the declared MSP rate.
• This issue is connected to broader discussions on agricultural policy, farmer welfare, and rural economic stability in India.

How UPSC asks Questions on this:

UPSC Prelims 2020

Key Concepts Involved:

• Minimum Support Price (MSP): A form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices.
• Procurement: The process of acquiring goods or services, in this case, agricultural produce, by the government.
• Weighted Average Cost: An average reflecting the proportional quantity of each item within a dataset.