NEW DELHI, October 8 — The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday approved a substantial hike in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) across all 14 mandated Kharif crops for the 2026-27 marketing season, reinforcing the statutory policy mandate to guarantee a minimum 50 percent return over production costs.
Under the revised price structure, the MSP for Paddy (Common grade) has been augmented by ₹117 to ₹2,417 per quintal, while Paddy (Grade A) has been enhanced to ₹2,457 per quintal. To incentivize domestic crop diversification toward pulses and oilseeds—curtailing import dependence—the highest absolute increases were sanctioned for Tur (Arhar) raised by ₹550 to ₹7,550 per quintal, Moong to ₹8,682 per quintal, Urad to ₹7,400 per quintal, and Medium Staple Cotton to ₹7,121 per quintal.
The price revisions, formulated upon recommendations by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), ensure returns ranging between 50 percent and 85 percent over the all-India weighted average cost of production (A2+FL formula). Procurement operations will be executed across rural collection points by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), NAFED, and Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).
The institutional mandate of the CACP (established in 1965), costing methodologies (A2, A2+FL, and comprehensive C2 costs), the National Commission on Farmers (Swaminathan Committee report), and procurement mechanisms under NFSA 2013 are central pillars of UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Agricultural Economics) and NABARD examinations. Candidates should note that MSP covers 22 mandated crops (14 kharif, 6 rabi, and 2 commercial crops) along with Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane.