Minimum Support Price
Minimum Support Price · CACP · procurement · DCP
12 min read · Updated 2026-05-25
What is Minimum Support Price?
Minimum Support Price is the price at which the Government of India commits to buy specified crops from farmers, regardless of the market rate. It is recommended twice a year by the CACP, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, and covers 22 crops plus sugarcane's separate Fair and Remunerative Price. Since 2018 it is set at A2 plus family labour plus 50 percent, and is not legally enforceable.
The story
It is 5 June 2024. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs clears MSPs for the kharif 2024-25 marketing season. Paddy (common): Rs.2,300/quintal — up Rs.117 from last year, the lowest annual hike (5.4%) in three years. Tur (arhar): Rs.7,550/qtl. Soybean: Rs.4,892. Cotton (medium staple): Rs.7,121.
That afternoon, a farmer leader at the Shambhu border (Punjab-Haryana) reads the press release on his phone. His protest sign asks for one thing: "MSP at C2 + 50%, legally guaranteed across 23 crops". The Swaminathan Committee had recommended this in April 2006, eighteen years ago. The current MSP formula uses A2+FL+50% — a lower base. The gap between C2+50% and A2+FL+50% is roughly 20-30% of the price.
On the same desk in Krishi Bhavan, a NITI Aayog working paper reads: "If MSP is legally guaranteed across 23 crops, fiscal cost ranges between Rs.5.4 lakh crore to Rs.10 lakh crore depending on price gap assumptions". The arithmetic of MSP is not abstract — it is the politics of crop choice in India.
For UPSC, MSP is one of those topics where you must know dates, numbers, formulas, committees, crop lists — and be able to argue both sides.
Why this matters for UPSC
GS-III asks MSP-related questions nearly every cycle: "MSP-procurement effectiveness", "Swaminathan formula", "Effects of FCI procurement". Prelims tests CACP/Swaminathan/MSP formulas (2018, 2020, 2023). Honest: 2-3 marks Prelims/year, one Mains 15-mark question every 1-2 years.