About PM-AASHA

• In 2018, the government launched Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) to ensure that farmers growing oilseeds, pulses and copra actually get the MSP they are promised for their crops every year. 

Why in News?

• The Government of India has approved the continuation of the PM-AASHA scheme to provide better prices to farmers and control price volatility of essential commodities for consumers. 
• The government has converged the Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) schemes under PM-AASHA to serve farmers and consumers more effectively. 
• This integration aims to provide farmers with remunerative prices for their crops, while stabilising the market prices of essential commodities, thus making them affordable for consumers.
• The revamped PM-AASHA now includes components like:
  • Price Support Scheme (PSS)
  • Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF)
  • Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS)
  • Market Intervention Scheme (MIS)

Price Support Scheme:

• Under PSS, the government will procure notified pulses, oilseeds, and copra at Minimum Support Price (MSP) to ensure farmers receive fair prices and to prevent distress sales. 
• The procurement of these crops will be limited to 25 per cent of national production. However, this ceiling will not be applicable in case of Tur, Urad & Masur as there will be a 100% procurement of these crops during 2024-25 season.
• It is expected to boost domestic production, reducing reliance on imports.

Price Stabilisation Fund:

• The PSF will continue to protect consumers from sharp price spikes in agricultural and horticultural commodities by maintaining a strategic buffer stock of pulses and onions. 
• The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, will procure these items when market prices exceed the MSP, including from pre-registered farmers.
• This measure aims to discourage hoarding, reduce speculative trading, and ensure that essential commodities are available at affordable prices.
• Interventions under PSF have also extended to crops like tomatoes, and the scheme supports the subsidised retail sale of products like Bharat Dal, Bharat Atta, and Bharat Rice.

Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS):

• PDPS aims to ensure remunerative price to the producer of oilseeds whose MSP are notified and when sold in the harvest season without the actual procurement by the government agencies. 
• Under the scheme, the Central government provides direct payment of up to 15 per cent of the difference between the MSP and the market price to the farmers selling their produce in the notified market yard.
• To encourage states to adopt PDPS for oilseeds, the government has now increased the coverage from 25 per cent to 40 per cent of state production. 

Market Intervention Scheme (MIS):

• MIS is an ad-hoc scheme under which the government procures agricultural and horticultural commodities which are perishable in nature.
• The objective of intervention is to protect the growers of these commodities in the event of a bumper crop during the peak arrival period. 
• The scheme is implemented at the request of a State/UT government which is ready to bear 50 percent of the loss (25 percent in case of North-Eastern States), if any, incurred on its implementation. 
• The government has now introduced an option for direct differential payments to farmers, replacing the physical procurement process.
• In the case of tomato, onion, and potato (TOP) crops, the government will bear the costs of transportation and storage, helping to bridge the price gap between producing and consuming states during peak harvesting times.