Union Cabinet clears MSP hikes and Rs 37,500 Cr coal plan

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved an increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 Kharif Crops for Marketing Season 2026-27. Addressing the media after the Union Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government has increased the MSP of Kharif Crops to ensure remunerative prices to the growers for their produce. He said, for the Kharif season, the estimated payout to the farmers will be two lakh 60 thousand crore rupees.

He said an estimated over 824 lakh metric tonnes of crops will be procured in the season. Mr Vaishnaw said the highest increase of 622 rupees per quintal in MSP has been recommended for Sunflower Seed, followed by 557 per quintal for Cotton and 500 rupees per quintal for Sesamum. He said, for Grade A Paddy, the MSP will be 2 thousand 461 rupees per qunital, for Jowar Hybrid it will be 4 thousand and 23 rupees per quintal, for Bajra the MSP will be 2 thousand 900 rupees and for Tur, it will be 8 thousand 450 rupees per quintal.

The Cabinet has also approved a Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal and Lignite Gasification Projects with a financial outlay of 37 thousand 500 crore rupees. Addressing media, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishanw said, the Scheme marks a major step towards accelerating India’s coal and lignite gasification programme. He said, the scheme aims to incentivize new surface coal and lignite gasification projects for production of syngas and its downstream products, targeting gasification of approximately 75 Million Tonnes of coal and lignite. Mr Vaishnaw said that the expected  investment will be of three lakh crore rupees under the scheme.

Vaishnaw said that financial incentive will be provided at a maximum of 20 percent  of the cost of Plant and Machinery and selection will be made  through a transparent and competitive bidding process, with an evaluation framework benchmarking project cost, coal input, and syngas output.

Cabinet also approved India’s first semi-high-speed rail corridor (134 km) on broad gauge using indigenous technology under Namo Bharat Train operations with an outlay of 20,667 crore rupees. The Minister said that it will connect Dholera SIR with Ahmedabad (Sabarmati), Dholera Airport and Lothal NHMC.

Cabinet  has also approved the upgradation and modernisation of Nagpur International Airport through long term license involving Private Partner under Public Private Partnership. Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw said, this marks a major milestone in Nagpur airport’s journey to becoming a regional aviation hub under the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project.

He said, with private sector efficiency and government oversight, the Airport is poised to see significant investment, modernization, and improved passenger and GMR Nagpur International Airport Limited (GNIAL) will take up the transformation of Nagpur’s Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport into a world-class facility.

The  phased development envisaged to reach the ultimate capacity of handling 30 million passengers annually, positioning it as a key Airport in Central India.  This transformation is set to not only enhance connectivity within the Vidarbha region, but also strengthen its economic infrastructure. Cargo handling capabilities would also be significantly boosted.