NEW DELHI, October 10 — The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on Saturday operationalized a ₹35,000 crore sovereign credit guarantee under the revamped Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), empowering central nodal agencies NAFED and NCCF to execute assured Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement of pulses, oilseeds, and copra during the 2026-27 marketing cycle.
Under the liberalized procurement guidelines, the Union Government has waived the statutory 25 percent procurement ceiling specifically for Tur (Pigeon Pea), Urad (Black Matpe), and Masoor (Lentil), committing to purchase 100 percent of domestic farm output offered by registered cultivators at notified MSP rates. Farmers can complete digital self-registration via the 'e-Samriddhi 2.0' and 'e-Samyukti' portals to receive Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) settlements into Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts within 48 hours of weighbridge receipt.
The unified PM-AASHA umbrella integrates three operational pillars: the Price Support Scheme (PSS for physical procurement), the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS paying the differential between MSP and modal mandi prices without physical stock handling), and the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for perishable horticulture commodities.
Agricultural marketing architectures, the components of PM-AASHA (launched in 2018 and extended through the 15th Finance Commission cycle), the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF managed by the Department of Consumer Affairs), and the National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO-Oilseeds & Oil Palm) are core topics across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Agricultural Economics) and NABARD Grade A/B examinations.