Budget 2018: Govt woos farmers with higher MSP; MNREGA allocation unchanged

Budget 2018: Jaitley said the government would spend more on agriculture, livelihood and infrastructure in the rural area

In line with the expected thrust on the farm and rural sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for notified kharif crops will be 1.5 times the input cost, and also stepped up total budgetary allocation for the sector for next fiscal by about five per cent.

Presenting the Union Budget for 2018-19, Jaitley said the government would spend more on agriculture, livelihood and infrastructure in the rural area and increased funds for crop insurance, rural roads, irrigation besides setting higher targets for farm credit.

With total budgetary outlay of Rs 2,01,933 crore for agriculture