New Delhi, 23 April: A total of 3.92 lakh metric tonnes of tur (pigeon pea) has been procured at MSP till April 22 through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana. This has benefited 2,56,517 farmers of these states, informed the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The ministry said that to encourage farmers contributing to increasing domestic production of pulses and to reduce dependence on imports, the government has approved the purchase of tur, urad and lentil under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) equal to 100% of the state’s production for the procurement year 2024-25.
Supreme Court pays tribute to tourists killed in Pahalgam terror attack
New Delhi, 23 April: Two minutes silence was observed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday to pay tribute to the tourists killed in the Pahalgam attack. At exactly 2 o’clock, the siren sounded in the Supreme Court and after that the lawyers paid tribute by observing silence on the lawn of the Supreme Court.
Today, in the Chief Justice’s court room number one, the Chief Justice and the lawyers present in the courtroom stood up and paid silent tribute. On April 22, 28 people including tourists died in the terrorist attack in Baisaran, Pahalgam.
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has approved the procurement of a total of 13.22 lakh metric tonnes of tur (pigeon pea) in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh under the Price Support Scheme during Kharif 2024-25 season. The Union Minister has also approved extension of the procurement period in Andhra Pradesh from 90 days to 30 days up to 22nd May 2025 in the interest of farmers.
The government has also announced in Budget 2025 that 100 per cent of the state’s production of tur (pigeon pea), urad and lentil will be procured for the next four years till 2028-29 through central nodal agencies namely NAFED and NCCF to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses in the country.
