Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday told the Lok Sabha that the Union Cabinet has approved an increase in Minimum Support Price or MSP of six crops. His announcement came as farmers stepped up their protests against the Narendra Modi government’s contentious agriculture bills and accused the Centre of playing into the hands of big corporates to compromise their interests.
The MSP hike ranges from Rs 50 to Rs 300, Tomar told Parliament. The support price for wheat, a key crop in Punjab and Haryana, has been increased by Rs 50 a quintal and will be Rs 1,975 per quintal this season. Meanwhile, barley support price has been increased by Rs 75 per quintal and the revised price will be Rs 1,600. The minimum support price for gram has gone up by Rs 225 and is now Rs 5,100. Lentil MSP has been increased by Rs 300 per quintal to Rs 5,100. Similarly, the MSP for…