Union government fixes Rs 1,600 as paddy MSP, farmers want more in Tamil nadu.

Chief Minister announced paddy procurement price for the current season and ordered opening of direct procurement centres (DPCs) in all districts, except Chennai and The Nilgiris. In a statement, he said the Union government had fixed Rs 1,550 per quintal as Minimum Support Price (MSP) for ordinary variety of paddy and Rs 1,590 for fine variety. Considering the interests of farmers, the Tamil Nadu government would give Rs 50 and Rs 70 respectively for ordinary and fine varieties of paddy, in addition to the Centre’s MSP. Thus, in Tamil Nadu, Rs 1,600 and Rs 1,660 per quintal would be given to farmers for ordinary and fine varieties of paddy. Under the decentralised procurement system of Central government, procurement of paddy would be done through 1,564 direct procurement centres of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation. In all, the government has planned to procure 20 lakh tonnes of paddy. More DPCs would be opened in places where farmers require them.