Wheat purchase by UP could incur Rs 8,000-crore loss to exchequer

Govt's decision to purchase 8 mt of wheat from farmers could mean a financial burden of Rs 8,000 cr

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government’s decision to purchase eight million tonnes (mt) of wheat from farmers could mean an additional financial burden of at least Rs 8,000 crore.

The earlier Akhilesh Yadav government had planned to purchase three mt from farmers in 2017-18. The new Yogi Adityanath government scaled this up to eight mt, half in the first phase, at its first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Assuming all this additional wheat is purchased at the centrally-set minimum support price of Rs 1,625 a quintal, it would mean either the state or Centre has to immediately arrange for an extra Rs 8,125 crore.