MSPs under UPA govt rose faster than under NDA regime for kharif crops

Years close to elections see steepest rise in MSP, compared to non-election years

With but one agricultural season remaining for general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has given the strongest upward push to minimum support prices (MSPs)  in its tenure for major kharif crops for 2018-19 season.

The recent jump is exactly in consonance with the trend visible in the last two decades, coinciding with the tenures of last four Union governments. The rise in MSPs is steeper in a pre-election year, or immediately following an election year, than the years in between, shows a Business Standard analysis of data from Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).