Ramesh Chand

Chand said NITI Aayog is working on the new development model for India with the same focus on boosting incomes from the rural non-farm sector

The minimum support price (MSP) of crops can guarantee stable prices but not always the best rates, which can only be ensured through fair competition in the market, Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand said on Friday. He was addressing an agriculture conclave organised by Rural Voice, a digital media platform. Speaking on the demand of farmer groups to make MSP a legal right, Chand noted that cultivators want it to get the best price for their produce and also to protect themselves from price fluctuations. "In my view, MSP is not the best price in all situations. It is definitely a stable price but not the best price. Best price comes from competition. If there is competition in the market, farmers can get the best price," he said. The government fixes MSP for 22 crops. It procures wheat and paddy for supply through ration shops under various welfare schemes. Some quantities of oilseeds and pulses are also procured. Chand, who is also a member of the government-appointed committee on M

A government panel headed by Niti Aayog's Ramesh Chand is finalising the changes in the WPI to include 60 per cent of the economy for the first time

Farm sector growth to be around 3% in FY22; can improve in FY23 if monsoon, other conditions are favourable: Niti member Ramesh Chand

Says both the Centre and the Supreme Court have been quite accommodative and flexible in their approach, but now it seems to be a clash of egos

He says that the APMC system did not evolve with changes in time and requirement

Farm sector growth will top 3 per cent in the year started April 1, Ramesh Chand, an adviser to PM Narendra Modi, said in an interview.

Chand has a PhD in agricultural economics from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute