RBI clears Rs 19,240 crore CCL for Punjab for Rabi marketing season

Chandigarh: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday cleared Rs 19,240.91 crore towards Cash Credit Limit (CCL) for Punjab for the purchase of wheat in the Rabi marketing season.

With this, the bulk of the CCL sought by the state government for the purchase of 130 lakh tonne of wheat for this season has been released by the central bank, an official release said here.

The release of the CCL would facilitate the state government in making timely payments to farmers against purchases of food grains in the current season, which would begin from April 1 and culminate on May 25, it said.

The central government has fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat at Rs 1,840 per quintal, hiking it by Rs 105 from last year's Rs 1,735 per quintal.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh reviewed the arrangements for smooth wheat procurement on Friday and issued strict directives to the Food and Civil Supplies Department to ensure that the farmers do not face any hassles in the procurement of their grain.