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.
BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Manoj Tiwari and spokesperson Harish Khurana allegedly defamed an AAP volunteer as one who assaulted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a poll rally.
Air India has decided to sell the very last minutes inventory within three hours of departure at a "hefty discount," the airline said in a statement, without quantifying the discount.
Rahul Gandhi said the Congress acknowledges that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were a "terrible tragedy", and its leaders have repeatedly apologised for the same.
