FinMin presses agri ministry for reworking MSP procurement models

Govt says excessive financial burden might be difficult to sustain in the long run

The Centre had indicated funds wouldn’t be a constraint when it came to fulfilling the key announcement of developing a fool-proof procurement model for crops whose prices have fallen below the minimum support price (MSP). But, the finance ministry is learnt to have told the agriculture ministry that it won’t be possible to bear any annual expenditure which is more than Rs 200-250 billion in the long run.

At a meeting held three weeks ago, senior policymakers in the North Block told agriculture ministry officials that they needed to rework the proposal with regard to funding and methods of procurement.

“The projections