Siddaramaiah writes to PM Modi on MSP for toor dal
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately approve MSP procurement of toor dal through two central agencies, and ensure immediate operational deployment across the state's major procurement centers before peak arrivals begin.
He warned that any further postponement at this critical juncture will inevitably lead to farmer unrest, price collapse, and a serious breakdown of trust in Minimum Support Price (MSP) as a viable public policy instrument.
In a letter to Prime Minister Modi dated December 8 and shared with the media on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah recalled that the Government of Karnataka has already submitted a formal proposal seeking immediate approval for MSP-based procurement of toor dal through National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation Of India Limited (NCCF).
"However, we are still awaiting a response from the Union Government, even as market arrivals are approaching rapidly," he stated.
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In the letter, Siddaramaiah pointed out that during the current Kharif season (2025-26), toor dal has been sown across approximately 16.80 lakh hectares in Karnataka, with an expected production of over 12.60 lakh metric tonnes.
"The crop represents the backbone of income for farmers across major growing districts including Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Bidar, Raichur, Vijayapura, Koppal, Belagavi, Ballari, Vijayanagara, Bagalkote, Kolar, Chikkaballapura and Chitradurga, regions that embody both the agrarian strength and resilience of our State," he stated.
According to Siddaramaiah, at present, the modal market prices are ranging between Rs 5,830 and Rs 6,700 per quintal, while the MSP announced for toor dal for 2025-26 stands at nearly 28,000 per quintal.
Peak arrivals are expected between December 2025 and January 2026, but the Union Government will open the procurement centres only in February and March.
"It is evident that farmers are staring at a serious income shock, unless timely and decisive intervention is undertaken by the union government," the CM stated.
Siddaramaiah further noted that when the market price falls below MSP, it is not merely a question of economics; it is a question of trust between the farmer and the state.
Farmers have sown their crops trusting the MSP assurance given by the Centre, he said.
"Every day of delay is pushing Karnataka's farmers closer to distress sales, debt traps and irreversible financial damage," he added.
He stated that when farmers suffer because of delayed procurement, the damage is not confined to one season, it "erodes confidence" in public institutions themselves.
Karnataka's farmers were demanding only the rightful enforcement of a price already declared by the Government of India.
"I therefore urge you, with utmost seriousness and urgency, to, immediately approve MSP procurement of toor dal through NAFED and NCCF, and ensure immediate operational deployment across Karnataka's major procurement centers before peak arrivals begin," he stated.
Stressing that Karnataka has always stood at the forefront of national food security, Siddaramaiah said this is not merely an administrative decision.
"It is a moral test of our collective commitment to those who feed India. I expect an immediate and decisive response from the Union Government in the larger interest of farmers, federal cooperation, and national food security," he added.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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