On February 10, 2025, the government approved the continuation of the integrated Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) Scheme until 2025-26 under the 15th Finance Commission Cycle. This integrated scheme, which includes the Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS), Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), and Price Stabilisation Funds (PSF), aims to ensure fair prices for farmers while stabilizing the cost of essential commodities for consumers.
The Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare (DA&FW) oversees PSS, PDPS, and MIS, while the Department of Consumer Affairs manages PSF. The primary objective of this integrated scheme is to provide remunerative prices to farmers while ensuring price stability for essential commodities, benefiting both producers and consumers.
Under the Price Support Scheme, the government has been actively procuring notified pulses, oilseeds, and copra at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) through Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs) and state-level bodies. For Kharif 2024-25, the procurement of soybean has been approved in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Telangana.
As of February 9, 2025, around 19.99 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of soybean have been procured, directly benefiting 8,46,251 farmers. In a bid to support more cultivators, Chouhan has approved extensions for soybean procurement timelines in Maharashtra and Telangana, allowing additional time for farmers to sell their produce at MSP.
Similarly, groundnut procurement has been approved in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh for the same season. By February 9, 2025, approximately 15.73 LMT of groundnut had been procured, benefiting 4,75,183 farmers. To further support cultivators, procurement extensions have been granted in Gujarat for 6 days and Karnataka for 25 days beyond the standard period, to ensure that more farmers can take advantage of the support mechanism and secure stable prices for their crops.
To further incentivize domestic production and reduce dependency on imports, the government has allowed the procurement of Tur, Urad, and Masur under PSS up to 100% of the state’s production for the procurement year 2024-25.
Additionally, the Budget 2025 announcement confirmed that this provision will continue for four more years to achieve self-sufficiency in pulse production.
