
NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to hike the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for raw jute by 6 per cent to Rs 5,650 per quintal for the 2025-26 marketing season. It also reviewed the progress made in three years of implementing the extended five-year tenure of the National Health Mission since 2021.
Briefing the media after the Union Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the new MSP for jute ensures a return of 66.8 per cent over the all-India weighted average cost of production and will benefit growers.
The government has increased the MSP of raw jute from Rs 2,400 per quintal in 2014-15 to Rs 5,650 per quintal for the 2025-26 marketing season, marking an increase of 2.35 times, the minister noted.
The approved MSP of raw jute for the 2025-26 marketing season aligns with the principle of fixing MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production, as announced by the government in the Budget 2018-19, according to an official release.
It is notable that the livelihood of 40 lakh farm families depends directly or indirectly on the jute industry, with around 4 lakh workers receiving direct employment in jute mills and trade in jute.
Last year, jute was procured from 1.7 lakh farmers, with 82 per cent of jute growers belonging to West Bengal, while Assam and Bihar accounted for 9 per cent each of jute production.
The government release further stated that Jute Corporation of India (JCI) “will continue as the Nodal Agency to undertake Price Support Operations, and the losses incurred, if any, in such operations, will be fully reimbursed by the central government”.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MH&FW) apprised the Union Cabinet of the progress made under the National Health Mission (NHM) during 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24, Goyal said.
The NHM’s progress report was presented to the Cabinet on various health indicators, including accelerated declines in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), under-5 Mortality Rate (MR), and Total Fertility Rate (TFR), as well as progress in programmes targeting diseases like TB, Malaria, Kala-Azar, Dengue, Tuberculosis, Leprosy, Viral Hepatitis, and new initiatives such as the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission, the minister said.
Goyal stated, “The NHM has significantly contributed to improving India’s public health outcomes through its relentless efforts in expanding human resources, addressing critical health issues, and fostering an integrated response to health emergencies.”
Highlighting key achievements, the minister noted that there has been a significant increase in human resources within the healthcare sector. In FY 2021-22, NHM facilitated the engagement of 2.69 lakh additional healthcare workers, including General Duty Medical Officers (GDMOs), specialists, staff nurses, ANMs, AYUSH doctors, allied healthcare workers, and public health managers. Additionally, 90,740 Community Health Officers (CHOs) were engaged.
This number grew in subsequent years, with 4.21 lakh additional healthcare professionals engaged in FY 2022-23, including 1.29 lakh CHOs, and 5.23 lakh workers engaged in FY 2023-24, which included 1.38 lakh CHOs. These efforts have significantly improved healthcare delivery, particularly at the grassroots level.
India has also made impressive progress in key health indicators under NHM. The MMR declined significantly from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh in 2018-20, marking a 25 per cent reduction.
The IMR dropped from 39 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 28 in 2020. Additionally, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) decreased from 2.3 in 2015 to 2.0 in 2020, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5).