The government has approved proposals from nine states for the procurement of pulses and oilseeds on the basis of minimum support price (MSP) in the kharif marketing year beginning October, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has said.

“We have given permission to nine states to procure pulses and oilseeds under the price support scheme,” he said on the sidelines of the Agri World 2018 conference. Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were the nine states whose proposals have been approved.

Singh said some states have already started procurement. Huge inventories of the crop with government agencies and anticipated good production have led to a steep fall in prices of pulses and oilseeds in key-growing areas of the country.

The government has estimated pulses output in this kharif season at 9.22 million tonne and that of oilseeds at 22.2 million tonne.

Food Corporation of India and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) will procure 44 lakh tonne of oilseeds and pulses under the new scheme –– Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM- AAASHA) –– aimed at ensuring assured and better returns to farmers. For the procurement, the Cabinet has already sanctioned an additional guarantee of Rs 15,500 crore, officials said.