India lowers GST on farm machinery, boosts crop prices and procurement to support farmers.

The Indian government has cut GST rates on agricultural machinery, saving farmers up to ₹65,000 on large tractors, with smaller models seeing savings of ₹23,000 to ₹43,000. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the move, citing Prime Minister Modi’s focus on farmer welfare amid global trade pressures. The government also raised Minimum Support Prices for Rabi crops, with procurement targets of 297 million metric tonnes for 2026-27 and expected MSP payments of ₹84,263 crore. The PM-KISAN scheme has disbursed ₹3.9 lakh crore directly to farmers. The government plans to procure over 100% of tur, urad, and masoor pulses through 2028-29, with 2.46 million tonnes of tur already acquired by March 2025. Despite these measures, farmers still face risks from extreme weather and volatile markets.