RAS question
Cotton MSP was increased by how much for Kharif 2025-26?
Correct answer: (C) ₹589 per quintal.
For Kharif Marketing Season 2025-26, the Minimum Support Price for cotton was increased by Rs. 589 per quintal.
Explanation
The Press Information Bureau release on the Cabinet decision for Kharif Marketing Season 2025-26 states that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved higher Minimum Support Prices for 14 Kharif crops. It adds that the increase was meant to ensure remunerative prices for growers. In the official list of absolute MSP increases over the previous year, cotton is placed after nigerseed and ragi, with an increase of Rs. 589 per quintal. The same figure appears in the cotton row of the MSP table, so the required increase is Rs. 589 per quintal, not a rounded or approximate value.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Rs. 350 per quintal understates the official cotton MSP increase, which PIB lists as Rs. 589 per quintal for Kharif Marketing Season 2025-26.
- (B) Rs. 500 per quintal is not the figure in the Cabinet-approved MSP release; the cotton entry records an increase of Rs. 589 per quintal.
- (D) Rs. 700 per quintal overstates the notified cotton increase, as the PIB release gives Rs. 589 per quintal.
Concept
This tests the MSP mechanism within agricultural pricing policy, especially annual Kharif MSP revisions. RAS questions often pick exact Cabinet-approved figures because they link current affairs with core Indian Economy concepts.