Shimla, Sept. 25 -- The Himachal Pradesh government has procured more than 8,000 metric tonnes (MT) of apples under the market intervention scheme (MIS) while over 17,000 farmers have registered on the Himachal Pradesh Market Intervention Scheme (HPMIS) portal so far. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the digitisation of the MIS for apple 2026-27 is an important step towards making the scheme more transparent, accountable and farmer-friendly. The procurement, which commenced from August 1, 2026 through 213 apple collection centres (ACC) operated by Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC) and Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Marketing and Consumers Federation Ltd (HIMFED), will continue up to October 31, 2026. A major reform this season is the complete digitisation of MIS operations through HPMIS. The system covers farmer registration, procurement, digital receipts, transportation, processing, monitoring and payment, thereby improving transparency and accountability. HPMIS is available through Android and IOS applications and farmer registration has been made mandatory as a one-time exercise. Apple is the major fruit crop of Himachal Pradesh, accounting for approximately 80% of total fruit production and nearly 50% of the area under fruit crops. The CM said that one-time registration, digital receipts, real-time monitoring and direct bank transfer would reduce procedural difficulties and facilitate timely transfer of eligible payments directly to farmers' bank accounts. htc...