CHANDIGARH, October 5 — The Punjab Cabinet, meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann at the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh, gave formal approval to a comprehensive administrative blueprint ensuring the seamless procurement of an estimated 185 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy alongside scaled-up subsidies for in-situ stubble management machinery.
Under the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2026–27 roadmap, procurement will operate across more than 1,800 designated mandis anchored by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state procurement agencies at the statutory Minimum Support Price (MSP). Farmer settlements are legally bound to reflect via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) within 48 hours of grain lifting. To curtail post-harvest stubble burning, the cabinet sanctioned subsidized distribution of specialized crop residue management (CRM) machinery—including Happy Seeders, balers, and straw choppers—offering 50% individual subsidies and 80% capital assistance to Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS).
The Council of Ministers also approved dedicated fiscal incentives for industrial boilers and Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants utilizing densified paddy straw briquettes, mitigating air quality hazards across the northern plains.
Minimum Support Price determination mechanisms, agricultural marketing reforms, and statutory air quality oversight by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) are core topics in UPSC GS Paper III (Agriculture & Environment). Candidates should note that the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 empowers the central body to coordinate inter-state pollution mitigation strategies across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.