The government has said that paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is progressing fast in the procuring States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala and Gujarat.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said that so far over 197 lakh Metric Tonnes of paddy have been procured against the last year corresponding purchase of 159.76 Lakh Metric Tonnes.
This shows an increase of 23.43 per cent over last year. Out of the total purchase of over 197 Lakh Metric Tonnes, Punjab alone has contributed 136.47 Lakh Metric Tonnes which is 69.21 per cent of total procurement.
The Ministry said, about 16.62 lakh farmers have already benefited from the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season procurement Operations with MSP value of over 37 thousand 230 crore rupees.
The Ministry said, based on the proposal from the States, approval was accorded for procurement of 45.10 Lakh Metric Tonnes of Pulse and Oilseeds for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under Price Support Scheme.