NEW DELHI: A day after farmers demanding higher minimum support prices and farm loan waiver clashed with police at the Delhi-UP border, the Centre on Wednesday announced hike in the MSP of for winter-sown or Rabi crops. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The MSP of wheat has been hiked by Rs 105 per quintal, barley Rs 30 per quintal, while gram (Chana) by Rs 220 per quintal. Masur's MSP has been raised by Rs 225 per quintal, while the support price of rapeseed/mustard has been hiked by Rs 200 per quintal. Safflower MSP has been increased by Rs 845 per quintal.

PTI quoting Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said MSPs for all Rabi crops are higher than the cost of production ranging from 50-112 per cent.

"The farmer friendly initiative will give additional return to the farmers of Rs 62,635 crore by way of increasing MSP of notified crops to at least 50 per cent return over cost of production and will aid in doubling farmers' income," the government said in a statement.

For wheat, the cost of production is Rs 866 per quintal and MSP is Rs 1,840 per quintal, thereby giving a return of 112.5 per cent to farmers.

In case of gram, the MSP is higher by 75 per cent than the cost of production. Masur support price is up 76.7 per cent from cost of production, while mustard MSP is nearly 90 per cent more than the cost of production.

For barley, the cost of production is Rs 860 and MSP is Rs 1440, giving a return of 67.4 per cent. In case of safflower, the MSP has been fixed 50 per cent higher than the production cost.

On Tuesday, thousands of protesting farmers from several states attempted to enter the national capital through Delhi-UP border but were prevented from doing so by the police. Their demands included unconditional loan waiver for farmers, clearing of dues by sugar mills, higher prices for crops, free electricity for farms and a cut in diesel prices.

When they attempted to enter Delhi, the police resort to water cannons and tear-gas shells to disperse them. They were lathi-charged and tear-gassed after water canons failed to subdue them.

The Centre later assured farmers that it would fix the minimum support prices (MSP) of rabi (winter-sown) crops like wheat at least 1.5 times of the production cost. It would also try to restrict imports of agri items that are produced abundant in the country.