Loading…
A PIB Backgrounder of 21 August 2026 sets out the architecture of Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), the umbrella framework for delivering the Minimum Support Price and curbing distress sales, launched in September 2018.
PM-AASHA has four components - Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Stabilization Fund (PSF), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) and Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) - each triggered by different crop and market conditions.
Budget allocation has risen from an actual expenditure of Rs 5,437.99 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 6,941.36 crore in 2025-26 and Rs 7,200 crore in 2026-27.
From the 2024-25 procurement year, PSS procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra is allowed up to 25 per cent of a State or UT's production, but Tur, Urad and Masur may be procured up to 100 per cent of State production to cut import dependence.
Procurement is executed by NAFED and NCCF with State governments, increasingly through PACS and FPOs, with biometric farmer authentication and pre-registration built into recent reforms.
Physically procure the crop at MSP when market prices fall below MSP during harvest, mainly for pulses, oilseeds and copra
Key: Procurement through NAFED and NCCF at the request of State governments; only registered farmers with valid land records are eligible. From the 2024-25 procurement year, procurement is allowed up to 25 per cent of a State or UT's production, with additional procurement up to 25 per cent of national production requiring approval of the Committee of Secretaries - but Tur, Urad and Masur may be procured up to 100 per cent of State production.
Protect consumers from price volatility in essential commodities such as pulses, onions and potatoes
Key: Buffer stocks are built during harvest and released in the lean season to cap price spikes. Merged into PM-AASHA but still administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs - a split that examiners like.
Pay farmers the gap between MSP and the actual market price without physically procuring the crop
Key: The difference is paid directly into bank accounts, capped at 15 per cent of the MSP value, and is used mainly for oilseeds. It avoids the need for large procurement, storage and disposal infrastructure.
Support perishable agricultural and horticultural commodities for which no MSP is declared - tomato, onion, potato and the like
Key: Triggered when market prices fall by at least 10 per cent over the previous normal season's rates; costs are shared between the Centre and the State, with operations run by central nodal agencies such as NAFED and NCCF. Recent reforms added transportation support for the TOP crops and price-differential payments under MIS.
Recommends Minimum Support Prices for 23 commodities - 7 cereals, 5 pulses, 7 oilseeds and 4 commercial crops. Set up in 1965 as the Agricultural Prices Commission and renamed in 1985. It is an attached office of the ministry, not a statutory body, and its recommendations are advisory.
Central nodal agency for procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra under PSS and for MIS operations
Apex body of consumer cooperatives and the second central nodal procurement agency under PM-AASHA; it opened organised masoor procurement in Bihar for the first time
Continues to manage the Price Stabilization Fund and the buffer stocks of pulses, onions and potatoes even after PSF's merger into PM-AASHA
The village-level delivery layer for procurement - 48 PACS and FPOs used in Bihar, 200 operational PACS and 12 FPOs in Chhattisgarh
There are two distinct routes and PM-AASHA carries both. In physical procurement (PSS), the state actually buys the crop at MSP, which means it must also store, transport and eventually dispose of it. In a deficiency payment (PDPS), the farmer sells in the open market and the state simply transfers the shortfall between the market price and MSP - here capped at 15 per cent of the MSP value - into the farmer's bank account. PDPS is cheaper on infrastructure and keeps the mandi functioning normally, but it delivers nothing if the farmer cannot find a buyer at all. PSS guarantees a buyer but creates stock the government must manage.
Simple Analogy: PSS is the government stepping in as the buyer of last resort. PDPS is the government letting the market find the buyer and quietly topping up the cheque.
| Aspect | PSS | PDPS | MIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crops covered | Pulses, oilseeds, copra | Mainly oilseeds | Perishables with no MSP - tomato, onion, potato |
| Is the crop physically bought? | Yes, at MSP | No - only the price gap is paid | Yes, by central nodal agencies |
| Trigger | Market price falls below MSP at harvest | Market price in the notified market is below MSP | Prices fall by at least 10 per cent over the previous normal season |
| Payment limit | Procurement capped at 25 per cent of State production; 100 per cent for Tur, Urad and Masur | Up to 15 per cent of the MSP value | Cost shared between Centre and State |
CACP recommends MSP for 23 commodities; the backgrounder's crop-wise cost and MSP figures for 2026-27 are the concrete version of the policy commitment that MSP should exceed the cost of production.
PACS and FPOs are the delivery layer for procurement here, linking PM-AASHA to the wider cooperative-strengthening agenda and to NAFED and NCCF as the apex cooperative federations.
The Price Stabilization Fund sits on the consumer side of the same coin - buying at harvest to support farmers and releasing in the lean season to protect consumers, which is why it stays with the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The 100 per cent procurement permission for Tur, Urad and Masur is explicitly aimed at raising domestic pulse output and cutting imports.
GS Paper 3 > Economy > Issues of buffer stocks, food security, MSP and agricultural marketing
General Awareness > Indian Economy > Government Schemes
General Awareness > Agriculture and Priority Sector, Government Schemes
General Awareness > Current Affairs and Schemes
MSP, procurement and PM-AASHA appear almost every year in UPSC Prelims and Mains GS Paper 3, and regularly in banking and SSC general awareness.
Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan, launched in September 2018 as an umbrella framework combining PSS, PSF, PDPS and MIS.
The floor price announced by the government on CACP's recommendation for 23 commodities, at which government agencies stand ready to buy.
The body whose approval is required for PSS procurement beyond a State's 25 per cent ceiling, up to 25 per cent of national production.
Tomato, Onion and Potato - the perishables that receive transportation support under recent Market Intervention Scheme reforms.