In parliament: Chaos erupts over question on MSP

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman’s question on the legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) triggered a massive row in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Suman enquired about the number of MSP panel meetings held since July 12, 2022, and if the government was contemplating to bring the legislation providing legal guarantee as per the Swaminathan Committee. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said while 22 meetings of the committee had taken place till date, it was yet to make its final recommendations. Unsatisfied by his response, Congress MPs staged a protest. RS Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar named Rajeev Shukla, Jairam Ramesh and Rajani Patil for their ‘noisy’ protests. TNS

BJP tally in Rajya Sabha rises to 87

New Delhi: The BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha has gone up to 87 with nominated member Satnam Singh Sandhu joining the party. The Rajya Sabha issued a bulletin last night announcing that Sandhu was now part of the BJP brigade in the House. However, the party is till short of 113-majority mark, while the INDIA bloc also has 87 members in the Upper House. TNS

PMFBY achieves record growth in coverage

New Delhi: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday announced in the Rajya Sabha that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) had witnessed an unprecedented growth in the coverage area and farmers’ participation. The gross cropped area under the PMFBY had reached 598 lakh hectares in 2023-24 compared to 501 lakh hectares in 2022-23, marking a growth of over 19 per cent. The number of farmers enrolled under the scheme went up from 3.17 crore in 2022-23 to 3.97 crore in 2023-24, reflecting a growth of over 25 per cent.