For the first time since the Centre withdrew funding for maize unless the States included the item in the public distribution system, the Telangana government is faced with the prospect of having to spend a huge amount on its procurement from farmers this year. It was from 2014-15, the first year of formation of Telangana, that the Centre continued to fix minimum support price for maize but left procurement to States under MSP operations if they did not supply the produce under PDS. The net burden to Telangana government in that year in both kharif and rabi on a total purchase of 28.78 lakh quintals of maize and selling the same in open market was INR 102 crore. Sources said the years 2015-16 and 2016-17 did not result in loss to the State government as maize was mostly sold by farmers at market yards at rates higher than the MSP. However, whatever produce that the government purchased in those years at MSP when the rates dropped was disposed of at a break even level.