Ahead of Diwali, Madhya Pradesh approves proposals targeting soybean, millet farmers and pensioners

BHOPAL: Ahead of Diwali, the Madhya Pradesh government approved a series of proposals on Tuesday, targeting the soybean and millet farmers and pensioners in the state. Aiming to boost the interests of the soybean farmers in the state, which is considered the countrys soybean bowl, the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, approved the implementation of the Bhavantar Yojana, price deficit payment scheme of the central government. Under the special scheme for the Kharif season 2025, the soybean farmers will be compensated for the deficit between the current selling price being fetched by their produce in notified markets and the Rs 5328 per quintal minimum support price fixed for soybean. The scheme allows the government to compensate if farmers receive prices lower than the MSP, which is fixed at Rs 5,238 per quintal, after selling soybean in the notified markets. The government will pay the difference between the selling price and the MSP. The government has fixed the MSP for soybeans under this scheme at Rs 5,238, urban administration and development minister Kailash Vijayvargiya informed after the meeting. Under the special scheme, soybean will be sold in the states notified mandis from October 24, 2025, to January 15, 2026. The model rate will be calculated based on the weighted average of soybean prices over 14 days in state mandis. The difference between the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the market/model rate will be transferred via DBT to the registered farmers bank accounts. The decision was long-awaited, particularly in the state which accounts for almost 60 per cent of the country's soybean production, and has seen steep decline in soybean prices, due to excess supply and inclement weather. In another key decision, the state cabinet decided to procure kodo and kutki (millets) from farmers in major millet-producing districts for the first time, benefiting a large number of tribal farmers. Under the Rani Durgavati Shree-Ann Protsahan Yojana, procurement of Kodo and Kutki will be undertaken from farmers in the leading production districts Jabalpur, Katni, Mandla, Dindori, Chhindwara, Shahdol, Anuppur, Umaria, Rewa, Sidhi, and Singrauli. Based on demand, procurement from farmers of other districts will also be considered. Procurement will be carried out by Shree Ann Consortium of Farmer-Producer Company Limited (Shree Ann Federation). For Kharif season 2025, approximately 30,000 metric tons of milletKutki at Rs 3,500 per quintal and Kodo at Rs 2,500 per quintal will be procured. The Federation will receive an interest-free loan of Rs 80 crore from the States Price Stabilisation Fund. Additionally, an incentive of Rs 1,000 per quintal will be directly transferred (DBT) to the bank accounts of eligible farmers. Further, the cabinet also approved a proposal to increase the dearness relief (DR) payable to pensioners in the state and family pensioners by 2 per cent. Around 4.5 lakh pensioners will benefit from the decision.This increase will result in an additional financial burden of approximately Rs 170 crore on the state exchequer for the current financial year. The decision aligns with the communication from the Government of Chhattisgarh dated August 25, 2025.