J'khand farmers to get bonus of Rs 81 per quintal over Centre's MSP for paddy

Ranchi, Dec 8 (PTI) The Jharkhand Cabinet on Monday decided that farmers of the state will get a bonus of Rs 81 per quintal of paddy in addition to the Centre's minimum support price (MSP) for crops in the 2025-26 fiscal, an official said.

The government has also decided at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, that the amount of financial assistance to support aspiring civil servants from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) communities will be extended from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.

“The cabinet has approved Rs 48.60 crore as a bonus against paddy procurement from the farmers. The MSP and additional bonus combined have been fixed at Rs 2,450 per quintal,” Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel told reporters.

The Centre has fixed MSP for common paddy at Rs 2,369 per quintal for the fiscal 2025-26. This means the farmers will receive an additional Rs 81 per quintal from the state government.

Dadel said the farmers will receive a one-time payment for the paddy to be purchased by the government, and not in instalments as was the practice earlier.

“The payment will be made within 48 hours and in special case, it may extend up to one week,” she said.

As many as 33 proposals were cleared by the Cabinet including increasing incentive for scheduled tribe and scheduled caste candidates, who cleared preliminary test of civil services.

“Under Mukhyamantri Anushuchit Janjati Anushuchit Jati Civil Seva Protsahan Yojana, the one-time incentive amount has been increased from existing Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh for the candidates who cleared preliminary test of civil service examination and preparing for Mains and interview,” Dadel said.

The family income provision to avail the benefit of the scheme, which was earlier Rs 2.5 lakh annually, has been increased to Rs 8 lakh annually, she said.

The cabinet also approved the amendments made in the guidelines for state festivals.

“The state festivals have been divided into two categories – tourism and cultural. For tourism festival, expenditure up to Rs 80 lakh could be made, while the same for culture festival is Rs 70 lakh,” she said. PTI SAN NN