Punjab, Sept. 30 -- The Cabinet raised minimum support prices for all six rabi crops for the 2027-28 season. Safflower got Rs 675 a quintal. Wheat got Rs 25, taking it to Rs 2,610.
The increases
The wheat number is the policy
A Rs 25 increase on a Rs 2,585 base is under 1%, in a year when retail inflation has run near 4.8% and wholesale near 10%. In real terms, wheat's MSP has gone down.
That is deliberate. Oilseeds and pulses got the large increases because India imports a great deal of both, and wheat did not because India does not.
Why the government wants farmers off wheat
India spends enormous sums importing edible oil - one of the largest items in the import bill after crude - while growing far more wheat and rice than the publi...