Why in News

• Telangana has asked the Centre to lift the 25% cap on MSP procurement and buy 100% of crops like maize and jowar, as drought hits 315 of its 621 mandals.
• It also wants wage work and water conservation works for farmworkers under the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin).

About MSP

• What it is: The Minimum Support Price (MSP) is the price at which the Centre promises to buy certain crops from farmers. It acts as a floor against price falls and is announced before the sowing season.
• Who decides: The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) recommends the prices, and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approves them. CACP is an advisory body, not a statutory one.
• How it is fixed: Since 2018-19, MSP is set at at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average A2+FL cost of production. A2 covers paid-out costs, and FL adds the value of unpaid family labour. C2 also includes rent and interest on owned land and capital.
• What CACP considers: Cost of production, demand and supply, domestic and world prices, price parity between crops, the terms of trade between farm and non-farm sectors, and the effect on consumers and inflation.
• Sugarcane: It has a separate Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP).
• Not a legal right: MSP is a policy commitment. Farmers cannot go to court to claim it, and the demand for a legal guarantee continues.
• Criticism: It encourages water-intensive paddy and wheat, adds to the food subsidy burden, and has limits under WTO rules on farm subsidies.

Crops Covered by MSP (22 Mandated Crops)

About MSP Procurement

• Wheat and paddy: Bought mainly by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State agencies.
• Pulses, oilseeds and copra: Bought by NAFED and NCCF under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) of PM-AASHA (2018).
• Cotton and jute: Bought mainly by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and the Jute Corporation of India (JCI).
• Coarse grains (jowar, bajra, maize, ragi): Bought by State agencies in some States. This is where Telangana wants the cap lifted.
• The 25% cap: Under PSS, the Centre buys only up to 25% of a crop’s production in a State.
• Earlier precedent: The Centre had earlier said NCCF and NAFED will buy 100% of tur, urad and masoor for four years under its pulses mission.
• Where it works: Effective procurement is concentrated in wheat and paddy and a few States, so many farmers growing other crops miss the MSP price.

Mains Angle

• Crop diversification: Farmers shift away from water-intensive crops only when assured prices make the switch safe, so procurement support and cropping change must go together.
• Federal relief: Relief in drought years depends on the Centre, so States press for faster funds, wage work and input support.
• Climate risk: El Niño years strain farm incomes, which makes water conservation and micro-irrigation essential.

Why in News

• The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025 shows female labour force participation (FLFPR) has risen since 2019-20. Rural FLFPR went from 33% to 45.9%, and urban FLFPR from 23.3% to 27.7%.
• An analysis of States and UTs shows that the pace of change is uneven. Several North Eastern States are rising faster than the national average, with Arunachal Pradesh at the top.

About FLFPR and the Measure Used

• FLFPR: The share of women who are working, or seeking or available for work.
• AAPP (Average Annual Percentage Point change): The yearly change in FLFPR, in percentage points. It shows the pace of change, not the level.
• Baseline matters: AAPP alone does not show whether a State is catching up from a low base or sustaining a high level. So the 2019-20 FLFPR is used as the starting point.
• All-India benchmark: The rural AAPP is 2.58, and the urban AAPP is 0.88. This means rural participation is rising about 1.7 points a year faster than urban.

About the Rural Findings

• North East leads: Major rural North Eastern States and UTs are above the all-India AAPP of 2.58.
• Arunachal Pradesh: It records the highest rise at 8.28 points a year, more than three times the national figure.
• Declines: FLFPR fell in Delhi and Lakshadweep. Lakshadweep is lowest at -2.34, so the gap between the highest and lowest is over 10 points.
• Catching up from a low base: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Tripura started below the 2019-20 national level but improved faster than average.
• Gains at a high base: Nagaland, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar and Jammu and Kashmir started above the national level and still improved faster than average. So faster improvement is not limited to low-base States.

About the Urban Findings

• Arunachal Pradesh again: Its urban AAPP is 5.24, against the all-India 0.88.
• Others above average: Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Negative change: Puducherry, Ladakh, Delhi and Lakshadweep. The urban range runs from +5.24 to -1.30.
• Low base, fast rise: Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Assam and Tripura started low but rose faster than average. Delhi started low and rose slower.
• High base, fast rise: Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir had higher starting levels and still gained faster than average.

Mains Angle

• Averages hide gaps: The national figure covers wide differences between States, so policy should be State-specific.
• Rural rise: Rural participation is growing faster than urban, but whether it means quality work is the real question.
• North East lead: Higher participation in the North East shows women’s stronger role in work, yet gaps remain between rural and urban areas and across States.
• Policy need: Skilling, credit and safe workplaces would help keep women in work, especially in urban areas where the rise is slower.