Chandigarh, April 11 (IANS) As the wheat arrivals surge across agrarian state Punjab, the total purchase of wheat has created a record in five years, officials said on Monday.
Government agencies have procured 4.3 lakh metric tons of wheat till April 10, against the earlier highest peak of 38,019 metric tons in 2018.
An official told IANS this year the government has ensured that minimum support price (MSP) payments of Rs 138 crore transferred directly into bank accounts of farmers, whereas the earlier high was Rs 6.5 crore in year 2017.
Terming the record-breaking figures a result of the good arrangements, he said the state government was committed to welfare of the farmers and would continue to take all possible steps to facilitate them.
The Central government has fixed the minimum support price of wheat at Rs 2,015 per quintal.
The government aims to purchase 132 lakh tonnes of wheat this season. The procurement of wheat, which began on April 1, will continue till May 31.
Prominent hospitals in Gurugram have claimed that a huge dip in admission of foreign nationals have been witnessed due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, while the latest political tussle in Afghanistan will also have a huge impact on medical tourism in Gurugram.
India's priority in Afghanistan is safely getting back home its citizens in the country that has been over-run by the Taliban and it is discussing the matter with UN and US officials, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said here on Wednesday.
The BJP MLA from the Bispi Assembly constituency in Bihar's Madhubani district, Hari Bhushan Thakur Bachaul, made a controversial statement on Wednesday when he said that people having problems staying in India should go to Afghanistan and avail petrol and diesel at a lower price there.
Delhi's air quality was in the moderate category in certain places, while it was very poor at others. Air quality index (AQI) was 370 in Anand Vihar, while it was 150 in Mayur Vihar.
