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Wheat MSP hike hailed

Staff Correspondent

Experts are of the opinion that it is still a bit short of expectations

CHANDIGARH: While the Centre's decision to raise the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat has been widely appreciated, many including Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and experts at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) are of the opinion that it still fell a bit short of expectations and requirements.

Through an official release, Capt. Singh has said that the concern of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resolve the agrarian crisis confronting the country was evident from the decision to enhance the MSP from Rs.650 per quintal to Rs.750. "It is for the first time that the MSP for wheat has been increased by Rs.100 per quintal and announced well before the sowing. This increase would provide a much-desired relief to the farmers, though it would not fully meet their aspirations."

He said it would have been more appropriate if the MSP was increased to Rs.800 per quintal but the concerns of the UPA Government for the common consumer could also not be overlooked. Expressing gratitude to the Prime Minister, Capt. Singh said that this goodwill gesture of the UPA Government would go a long way in winning the confidence of the beleaguered Punjabi farmer who was at the crossroads due to spiralling increases in costs of inputs at 127 per cent as compared to the meagre increase in MSP of 22 per cent. He also thanked UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for supporting the cause of Punjab's peasantry by taking an unequivocal stand in fixing the MSP at Rs.750 instead of Rs.700 as recommended by the Commission on Agriculture costs and Prices.

The Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University, K.S. Aulakh conveyed his gratitude to Mr. Chidambaram for hiking the MSP. However, Dr. Aulakh said, on the face of it Rs.100 per quintal appeared to be a major jump over last year's MSP, but when compared to the prevailing prices at the international as well as domestic open market levels, it fell short of even the cost of production.

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Wheat MSP hike hailed

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