Cabinet Approves MSP For 14 Kharif Crops, Varanasi International Airport Expansion

The central government on Wednesday approved Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 Kharif season crops, in its first meeting of the Union Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

The announcement was made by Union Information and Broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

“The Cabinet has approved Minimum Support Price (MSP) on 14 Kharif season crops including Paddy, Ragi, Bajra, Jowar, Maize and Cotton,” Vaishnaw said.

The Union Minister added that the Cabinet has approved an increase in MSP for paddy by Rs 117 to Rs 2,300 per quintal for the 2024-25 kharif crop season.

“Some very important decisions have been taken in today’s Cabinet. One very important decision has been taken for the welfare of farmers. Kharif season is starting, and for that, the Cabinet has approved MSP on 14 crops. The new MSP for paddy is Rs 2,300, which is Rs 117 increment over the previous MSP,” the I&B minister stated.

Vaishnaw emphasised that the third term of PM Modi is important, focusing on continuity with change through numerous decisions aimed at farmers’ welfare.

“With today’s decision, the farmers will get around Rs 2 lakh crores as MSP. This is Rs 35,000 crores more than the previous season,” he added.

Expansion Of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi

The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the development of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi. The project includes the construction of a new terminal building, apron extension, runway extension, parallel taxi track, and allied works.

“The estimated financial outgo will be Rs. 2869.65 Crore for enhancing the passenger handling capacity of the airport to 9.9 million passengers per annum (MPPA) from the existing 3.9 MPPA. The New Terminal Building, which encompasses an area of 75,000 sqm is designed for a capacity of 6 MPPA and for handling 5000 Peak Hour Passengers (PHP),” a PIB release stated.

India’s first offshore wind energy projects

Vaishnaw announced that the Cabinet has approved India’s first Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for offshore wind energy projects, totalling Rs. 7,453 crore.

This includes Rs. 6,853 crore allocated for the installation and commissioning of 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects (500 MW each off the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu), along with a grant of Rs. 600 crore for upgrading two ports to meet logistics needs for these projects.

“The successful commissioning of 1 GW offshore wind projects will produce renewable electricity of about 3.72 billion units annually, which will result in annual reduction of 2.98 million ton of CO2 equivalent emission for a period of 25 years,” the release noted.