Centre to procure 13.77 lakh tonnes of pulses, oilseeds from five States
Indicating its proactiveness in procuring food grains, the Centre on Monday said that it has approved the procurement of 13.77 lakh tonnes of pulses and oilseeds from five States — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana and Maharashtra — during the onging kharif season.
This is based on proposals received from these five States, according to an official statement. For other States and Union Territories, the nod will be given if proposals are received and procurement will be made as per the Price Support Scheme (PSS), if the market prices fall below the minimum support prices (MSP), it said.
Doodh Duronto Specials have transported 3-crore litres of milk from Renigunta to New Delhi
Doodh Duronto Special, introduced during the lockdown period from Renigunta to H Nizamuddin to supply milk to New Delhi, has so far transported three crore litres.
Transportation of milk to New Delhi plays an important role in balancing the milk supply. Considering its importance, the South Central Railway has been running Doodh Duronto as a special milk train. The train is run on par with best of the Mail express trains and the distance between Renigunta and H Nizamuddin (2,300 km) is covered within 34 hours.
Kerala farmers to get MSP for vegetables, fruits
In a first, Kerala last week announced a minimum support price for farm-fresh fruits and vegetables with effect from November 1, Kerala Formation Day. The State will procure the produce when prices drop below cost of production.
VS Sunil Kumar, State Agriculture Minister, who is under quarantine from Covid-19 infection, told BusinessLine over phone that the government has earmarked ₹110 crore for the scheme with the objective to fix the right price for the produce, raise production and encourage farming. The amount allocated under the scheme for the current year (till March) is ₹35 crore.
