What is PM-AASHA?
The Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) is the Government of India's umbrella price-support and procurement programme covering the crops for which an MSP exists but where mandi-driven markets often fail to deliver a remunerative price to the farmer. It was announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in September 2018 to address chronic distress in pulses, oilseeds, and copra, and was continued by Cabinet in September 2024 with an enhanced procurement guarantee of ₹45,000 crore through 2025-26. Where PMFBY protects the farmer against yield risk, PM-AASHA protects against price risk — the risk that even a good crop is sold below the cost of production because of a glut, exports, or import substitution.
The four pillars of PM-AASHA
1. Price Support Scheme (PSS)
Under PSS, central nodal agencies — primarily NAFED with FCI as a backstop — physically procure pulses (tur/arhar, urad, masur, chana, moong), oilseeds (groundnut, mustard, soybean, sunflower, sesamum) and copra at MSP whenever the prevailing market price falls below the MSP for a sustained period. State governments notify the procurement window. The Cabinet approval of September 2024 set procurement at 25 % of national production for notified crops — and for tur, urad and masur raised it to 100 % of the state's production. Budget 2025-26 assured 100 % procurement of these three pulses for four years (through 2028-29) to encourage farmers to expand pulse acreage and reduce import dependence (India imported about 4.7 million tonnes of pulses in 2023-24).
2. Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS)
PDPS is a non-procurement, DBT alternative: instead of the government buying the crop, the farmer sells it in the open mandi and the difference between MSP and the modal mandi price is transferred directly to the farmer's Aadhaar-linked bank account. Madhya Pradesh's Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana for soybean is the flagship state-level implementation; it has been picked up by Haryana for bajra and sunflower. PDPS is administratively lighter than PSS — it avoids storage, transport, and dis-investment losses that NAFED has historically suffered — but it depends on accurate modal price reporting at the notified mandi and an authenticated sowing declaration.
3. Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for TOP
MIS, revised in 2024, kicks in for perishables — primarily tomato, onion, and potato (the TOP basket) — when prices crash 10 % or more below the previous normal season's level. States request central support and the Centre can authorise either (a) procurement of up to 25 % of state production, or (b) a new Price Differential Payment directly to the farmer. The cost is shared 50:50 between the Centre and the state (75:25 for the north-east). MIS is the safety net for non-MSP crops where PSS does not apply.
4. Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF)
PSF maintains buffer stocks of pulses (chana, tur, moong, urad, masur) and onions to release into the market when consumer prices spike. It is the consumer-facing twin of PSS — PSS protects the producer; PSF protects the consumer and stabilises the inflation trajectory. The PSF buffer stock has, since 2020, been used several times to release chana and onion into open-market sales operations executed by NAFED and NCCF.
Eligibility and how to register
A farmer becomes eligible for PSS/PDPS by:
- Registering crop and acreage on the state procurement portal (e.g., e-Uparjan in MP and CG, RTPS in Karnataka, JharSEWA in Jharkhand, PFMS-linked AP and Telangana portals) before the cut-off date announced for the procurement window. Crop is geo-tagged where states have rolled out digital crop survey under the AgriStack Digital Agriculture Mission.
- Linking Aadhaar and bank account on the same portal — the account must be Aadhaar-seeded with NPCI for DBT under PDPS to land successfully.
- Producing the harvested commodity at the notified procurement centre with quality conforming to Fair Average Quality (FAQ) norms specified by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
- Holding a valid land record (RoR / khatauni / 7-12) or, in states with tenant recognition (AP, Karnataka, Telangana), a recognised tenant certificate.
Latest 2024-26 changes
- September 2024: Cabinet continued PSS, PDPS and MIS for 2024-25 and 2025-26; raised PSS coverage to 100 % of state production for tur/urad/masur; total procurement guarantee corpus enhanced to ₹45,000 cr. Budget 2025-26 assured 100 % procurement of the three pulses for four years, through 2028-29.
- 2024-25: New Price Differential Payment mode under MIS introduced — for the first time perishable growers can be compensated without physical procurement.
- Budget 2025-26: Integration of e-Uparjan and similar state portals with AgriStack Farmer ID announced; aim is to auto-populate sowing acreage from Digital Crop Survey rather than self-declaration.
Common rejection reasons
- Quality rejection at gate: Moisture, broken grain, foreign matter, or non-FAQ grade. Use improved seed and sun-dry produce to under 12 % moisture for pulses before bringing to procurement centre.
- Mismatch in registered vs offered quantity: Procurement centres reject loads more than 10 % above the registered acreage × notified yield benchmark.
- Aadhaar not seeded: PDPS DBT fails when the bank account is not Aadhaar-mapped on NPCI; resolve via the issuing bank, not via the procurement portal.
- Late registration: Cut-off is enforced strictly; missing the window forces sale in open mandi at prevailing rate.
Appeal lies with the State Procurement Officer at the district mandi. Most states maintain a parallel grievance-redressal helpline (e.g., 1800-180-1551 — the Kisan Call Centre — for general MSP queries).
Related tools and pages
- Compare your state's open mandi rate to MSP on the MSP gain calculator.
- See the FY 2025-26 MSP schedule on the MSP reference page.
- Check matching central + state schemes via the scheme eligibility wizard.
- For pulses and oilseeds, see related crop pages on tur, soybean and groundnut.