Govt may hike wheat MSP by Rs 100 per quintal for this year

New Delhi: The government may hike the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 100 to Rs 1,725 a quintal for this year, a government source said on Monday.

A decision in this regard is likely to be taken in the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

The MSP is the rate at which government buys the grain from farmers. At present, wheat MSP is Rs 1,625 per quintal.

"The MSP of rabi crops including wheat for the 2018-19 marketing year is on the agenda of the CCEA meeting tomorrow. The proposal is to raise the support price for wheat by Rs 100 per quintal for 2018-19," the source said.

Wheat is the main rabi crop, sowing of which will begin from this month. The crop will be marketed from next year April onwards.

In the cabinet note, the agriculture ministry has proposed MSP of seven rabi crops -- wheat, barley, gram, masur, rapeseed/mustard and safflower -- based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).