Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today approved the continuation of the Interest Subvention (IS) component under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) for the financial year 2025-26, and approved required fund arrangements.

MISS is a Central Sector Scheme aimed at ensuring the availability of short-term credit to farmers at an affordable interest rate through Kisan Credit card (KCC). Under the Scheme:

·        Farmers received short-term loans of up to Rs.3 lakh through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) at a subsidized interest rate of 7%, with 1.5% interest subvention provided to eligible lending institutions.

·        Additionally, farmers repaying loans promptly are eligible for an incentive of up to 3% as Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI) effectively reducing their interest rate on KCC loans to 4%.

·        For loans taken exclusively for animal husbandry or fisheries, the interest benefit is applicable up to Rs.2 lakh.

 

No changes have been proposed in the structure or other components of the scheme.

There are more than 7.75 crores of KCC accounts in the country. The continuation of this support is critical to sustaining the flow of institutional credit to agriculture, which is vital for enhancing productivity and ensuring financial inclusion for small and marginal farmers.

 Key highlights of Agriculture Credit:

·        Institutional credit disbursement through KCC increased from Rs.4.26 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs. 10.05 lakh crore by December 2024.

·        Overall agricultural credit flow also rose from Rs.7.3 lakh crore in FY 2013-14 to Rs.25.49 lakh crore in FY 2023-24.

·        Digital reforms such as the launch of the Kisan Rin Portal (KRP) in August 2023 have enhanced transparency and efficiency in claim processing.

 

Given the current lending cost trends, median MCLR and repo rate movements, retaining the interest subvention rate at 1.5% remains essential to support rural and cooperative banks and ensure continued access to low-cost credit for farmers.

The Cabinet’s decision reinforces the Government’s unwavering commitment to doubling farmers’ income, strengthening the rural credit ecosystem, and boosting agricultural growth through timely and affordable credit access.

To enhance line capacity, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today approved two multitracking projects across Indian Railways to ensure seamless and faster transportation of both passengers and goods.

These projects include:

The total estimated cost of the projects is Rs 3,399 crore (approx.) and will be completed upto 2029-30.

The projects are result of PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity which have been possible through integrated planning and will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services.

The two projects covering four Districts across the states of Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 176 Kms.

The proposed multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to approx. 784 villages, which are having a population of  about 19.74 lakh.

These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, clinker, gypsum, fly ash, containers, agriculture commodities, and Petroleum products etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 18.40 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import (20 Crore Litres) and lower CO₂ emissions (99 Crore Kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 4 Crore trees.

The projects will also generate direct employment for about 74 lakh human-days during construction.

These initiatives will improve travel convenience, reduce logistic cost, decrease oil imports and contribute to lower CO₂ emissions, supporting sustainable and efficient rail operations. The projects would also enhance logistical efficiency by augmenting line capacity along critical routes for transportation of containers, coal, cement, agricultural commodities, and other goods. These improvements are expected to optimize supply chains, thereby facilitating accelerated economic growth.

The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals are poised to streamline operations and alleviate congestion. The projects are in line with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji’s Vision of a New India which will make people of the region “Atmanirbhar” by way of comprehensive development in the area which will enhance their employment/ self-employment opportunities.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the construction of 4-Lane Badvel-Nellore Corridor  with a length of 108.134 km at a cost of Rs.3653.10 crore in state of Andhra Pradesh on NH(67) on Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) Mode.

The approved Badvel-Nellore corridor will provide connectivity to important nodes in the three Industrial Corridors of Andhra Pradesh, i.e., Kopparthy Node on the Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC), Orvakal Node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC) and Krishnapatnam Node on Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC). This will have a positive impact on the Logistic Performance Index (LPI) of the country.

Badvel Nellore Corridor starts from Gopavaram Village on the existing National Highway NH-67 in the YSR Kadapa District and terminates at the Krishnapatnam Port Junction on NH-16 (Chennai-Kolkata) in SPSR Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh and will also provide strategic connectivity to the Krishnapatnam Port which has been identified as a priority node under Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC).

The proposed corridor will reduce the travel distance to Krishanpatnam port by 33.9 km from 142 km to 108.13 km as compared to the existing Badvel-Nellore road. This will reduce the travel time by one hour and ensure that substantial gain is achieved in terms of reduced fuel consumption thereby reducing carbon foot print and Vehicle Operating Cost (VOC). The details of project alignment and Index Map is enclosed as Annexure-I.

The project with 108.134 km will generate about 20 lakh man-days of direct employment and 23 lakh man-days of indirect employment. The project will also induce additional employment opportunities due to increase in economic activity in the vicinity of the proposed corridor.

Annexure-I

The details of Project Alignment and Index Map:

Figure 1: Index Map of Proposed Corridor

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 Kharif Crops for Marketing Season 2025-26.

Government has increased the MSP of Kharif Crops for Marketing Season 2025-26, to ensure remunerative prices to the growers for their produce. The highest absolute increase in MSP over the previous year has been recommended for nigerseed (Rs.820 per quintal) followed by Ragi (Rs.596 per quintal), Cotton (Rs.589 per quintal) and Sesamum (Rs.579 per quintal).

Minimum Support Prices for all Kharif crops for Marketing Season 2025-26

(Rs. per quintal)

*Refers to cost which includes all paid out costs such as those incurred on account of hired human labour, bullock labour/machine labour, rent paid for leased in land, expenses incurred on use of material inputs like seeds, fertilizers, manures, irrigation charges, depreciation on implements and farm buildings, interest on working capital, diesel/electricity for operation of pump sets etc., miscellaneous expenses and imputed value of family labour.

^ Cost data are not separately compiled for Paddy (Grade A), Jowar (Maldandi) and Cotton (Long staple)

The increase in MSP for Kharif Crops for Marketing Season 2025-26 is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average cost of production, The expected margin to farmers over their cost of production are estimated to be highest in case of bajra (63%) followed by maize (59%), tur (59%) and urad (53%). For rest of the crops, margin to farmers over their cost of production is estimated to be at 50%.

In the recent years, Government has been promoting the cultivation of crops, other than cereals such as pulses and oilseeds, and Nutri-cereals/ Shree Anna, by offering a higher MSP for these crops.

During the period 2014-15 to 2024-25, procurement of paddy was 7608 LMT while during the period 2004-05 to 2013-14, procurement of paddy was 4590 LMT.

During the period 2014-15 to 2024-25, procurement of 14 Kharif crops was 7871 LMT while during the period 2004-05 to 2013-14, procurement was 4679 LMT.

During the period 2014-15 to 2024-25, MSP amount paid to Paddy growing famers was Rs. 14.16 Lakh  Crore while during the period 2004-05 to 2013-14, amount paid to farmers was Rs. 4.44 Lakh Crore.

During the period 2014-15 to 2024-25, the MSP amount paid to 14 Kharif crops growing famers was Rs. 16.35 Lakh Crores while during the period 2004-05 to 2013-14, MSP amount paid to farmers was Rs. 4.75 Lakh Crore.