Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA)

Overview

PM-AASHA (Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan) is an umbrella scheme launched in September 2018 to ensure that farmers growing pulses, oilseeds, and copra receive remunerative prices at or above the Minimum Support Price (MSP). It simultaneously aims to protect consumers from extreme price volatility of essential agricultural commodities.

The scheme was revamped and extended by the Union Cabinet in September 2024 with a total financial outlay of ₹35,000 crore during the 15th Finance Commission cycle (up to 2025-26). The government guarantee for procurement was enhanced to ₹45,000 crore.

Components of PM-AASHA

PM-AASHA integrates four distinct market intervention mechanisms under one umbrella:

1. Price Support Scheme (PSS)

• Purpose: Physical procurement of pulses, oilseeds, and copra at MSP when market prices fall below MSP
• Implementing Agencies: NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation) and NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation)
• Procurement Ceiling: From 2024-25 season onwards, procurement is sanctioned up to 25% of national production for a State/UT for that season
• Exception: For Tur, Urad, and Masur in 2024-25, the 25% ceiling does not apply — 100% procurement is planned to support the pulses self-sufficiency mission
• Trigger: Activated when market prices fall below MSP in a notified State

2. Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS)

• Purpose: Direct compensation payments to pre-registered farmers for the difference between MSP and the actual market price (selling price)
• Key Feature: No physical procurement of produce is needed — farmers sell in the open market and receive the price gap from the government
• Registration: Farmers must be pre-registered on the procurement portal
• Advantage: Lower fiscal burden than physical procurement; no storage/transport costs

3. Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF)

• Purpose: Maintain strategic buffer stocks of pulses and onions for calibrated release to control price spikes
• Key Function: Procurement during glut periods and release during lean periods to stabilise consumer prices
• Commodities: Primarily pulses (Tur, Urad, Masur, Chana, Moong) and onions
• Anti-hoarding: Discourages speculative hoarding by ensuring government stock availability

4. Market Intervention Scheme (MIS)

• Purpose: Price support for perishable horticultural commodities (onions, potatoes, tomatoes) not covered under MSP
• Trigger: Activated when prices fall by at least 10% from the previous normal season
• Implementation: Operated on the request of State/UT governments
• Integration: Made a formal component of PM-AASHA in the 2024 revamp

How PM-AASHA Works — Farmer Protection Flow

1. Government announces MSP for kharif and rabi crops each season
2. If market prices for notified pulses/oilseeds/copra fall below MSP, the State government requests Central intervention
3. Under PSS, NAFED/NCCF procure directly from farmers at MSP
4. Under PDPS, the difference (MSP minus market price) is transferred directly to farmers’ bank accounts
5. Under PSF, government maintains buffer stock and releases it to moderate retail prices
6. Under MIS, perishable commodities are procured on State request to prevent distress selling

Key Features of the 2024 Revamp

• Enhanced Government Guarantee: Raised from the previous level to ₹45,000 crore for procurement operations
• MIS Integration: Market Intervention Scheme formally made a component of PM-AASHA (previously a standalone scheme)
• Convergence: PSS and PSF converged under one umbrella for more efficient farmer-consumer protection
• 100% Tur/Urad/Masur Procurement: Special dispensation removing the 25% ceiling for these three pulses in 2024-25, linked to the government’s Aatmanirbharta in Pulses mission
• NBS Coordination: Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for phosphatic and potassic fertilizers aligned under the same cabinet approval

Latest Developments

• 100% procurement of Tur, Urad, and Masur operational in identified states for 2024-25 season — removing the 25% national production ceiling; procurement target set at 13.22 lakh metric tonnes with over 12,006 farmers already benefited
• Rs 15,095.83 crore procurement plan approved by Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for pulses and oilseeds in Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh for Kharif 2025-26 season
• NAFED and NCCF jointly leading procurement through the eSamridhi portal (NAFED) and eSamyukti portal (NCCF), enabling registered farmers to sell directly at MSP when market prices fall below support levels
• Government guarantee renewed and enhanced to Rs 45,000 crore for procurement of notified pulses, oilseeds, and copra at MSP
• PSS and PSF formally converged under PM-AASHA umbrella (September 2024 revamp) for more efficient farmer-consumer dual protection
• Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) made a formal fourth component of PM-AASHA in the 2024 revamp, covering perishable horticultural commodities (onions, potatoes, tomatoes)
• Scheme extended through the 15th Finance Commission cycle (up to 2025-26) with total financial outgo of Rs 35,000 crore

Prelims Importance

• PM-AASHA was launched in September 2018 as an umbrella scheme
• Four components: PSS, PDPS, PSF, and MIS
• Financial outlay: ₹35,000 crore during 15th Finance Commission cycle (up to 2025-26)
• Government guarantee for procurement: ₹45,000 crore
• PSS procurement ceiling: 25% of national production (from 2024-25 onwards)
• Exception: Tur, Urad, and Masur — 100% procurement in 2024-25 (no 25% ceiling)
• Implementing agencies: NAFED, NCCF, FCI
• PDPS involves no physical procurement — only price difference payment to farmers
• MIS is triggered when prices fall by at least 10% from the previous normal season
• NAFED was established in 1958 under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act
• MSP is announced by the government on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)
• CACP recommends MSP for 22 mandated crops and fair & remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane
• The 22 MSP crops include: 7 cereals, 5 pulses, 7 oilseeds, and 3 commercial crops (sugarcane, cotton, raw jute)

Mains & Interview Importance

GS3 — Indian Economy (Agriculture, Food Processing, MSP)

• Analyse whether PM-AASHA effectively bridges the gap between MSP announcement and actual price realisation by farmers
• Compare PSS (physical procurement) vs PDPS (deficiency payment) — which is more fiscally efficient and farmer-friendly?
• Discuss the Swaminathan Committee (NCF 2006) recommendation of MSP at C2+50% and how PM-AASHA relates to it
• Evaluate the role of NAFED and FCI in agricultural procurement — institutional capacity vs mandate

GS3 — Food Security & Price Volatility

• How does PSF address the twin challenge of protecting farmers (floor prices) and consumers (ceiling prices)?
• Discuss the onion price crisis cycle and how buffer stock management under PSF can break it
• Analyse the link between PM-AASHA and the National Food Security Act, 2013

Essay Connections

• “MSP is a promise; PM-AASHA is the delivery mechanism”
• “Balancing farmer income protection with consumer affordability”

Interview Angles

• “Why does India still not have a legal guarantee for MSP despite PM-AASHA?”
• “Is physical procurement under PSS sustainable given India’s limited cold storage infrastructure?”
• “How does PM-AASHA interact with e-NAM (National Agriculture Market) for transparent price discovery?”
• “Should PDPS be expanded to all 22 MSP crops, or would that create moral hazard?”

Sources: PIB, Business Standard, DD News, NextIAS