The Indian government has announced an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all mandated Rabi crops for the marketing season 2026-27. The decision, made by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to ensure remunerative prices for farmers and incentivize crop diversification.
The MSP for wheat has been increased by ₹160 per quintal, setting the new price at ₹2,585 per quintal. The increase in MSP for rapeseed and mustard is ₹250 per quintal.
The highest absolute increase in MSP was announced for safflower, at ₹600 per quintal. Lentil (masur) saw the second-highest increase, at ₹300 per quintal. Other crops also saw increases in MSP: gram by ₹225 per quintal and barley by ₹170 per quintal. With the latest revision, the MSP for barley is ₹2,150 per quintal, gram is ₹5,875 per quintal, lentil is ₹7,000 per quintal, rapeseed & mustard is ₹6,200 per quintal, and safflower is ₹6,540 per quintal.
The government stated that these MSP hikes align with the Union Budget 2018-19 commitment to set MSPs at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production. Based on this formula, the expected margin over the cost of production is 109% for wheat, 93% for rapeseed & mustard, 89% for lentil, 59% for gram, 58% for barley, and 50% for safflower.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the MSP hike would channel a total of ₹84,263 crore to farmers. The estimated procurement for the 2026-27 Rabi season is expected to be 297 lakh metric tonnes.
In addition to the MSP hikes, the Cabinet approved a mission to achieve self-reliance in pulses production, with a financial outlay of ₹11,440 crore over six years, from 2025-26 to 2030-31. This "Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses" aims to increase pulse production from 25 to 35 million tons by 2030-31 and will focus on key pulses like tur, urad, and masur using cluster farming and guaranteed government buying.
The government hopes that these measures will provide better income security for farmers, encourage crop diversification, and reduce India's reliance on imports.