Bonus, higher MSP for farmers growing pulses proposed

The Centre has decided to give bonus to farmers who produce pulses. In this connection, a committee headed by the adviser to Prime Minister, Dr Arvind Subramanian, has been constituted and it has been asked to give its report about the bonus to farmers and higher MSP for pulses in 2 weeks. The decision on the committee was made by a Cabinet committee headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and attended by Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu. Ram Vilas told the media that the committee had been asked to frame a long-term policy for pulses production, which would look into various options of MSP and bonus. It would also suggest measures to increase the cultivation of lentils in India. Meanwhile the import of pulses was increased to 20 million tonnes this year as against 17 million tonnes last year.