New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for raw jute for the 2025-26 marketing season, set at ₹5,650 per quintal, representing a rise of ₹315 per quintal from the previous season’s MSP of ₹5,335.
The Cabinet also commended the achievements of the National Health Mission (NHM) between 2021 and 2024, which included reducing tuberculosis (TB) incidence from 237 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 195 in 2023; and TB mortality rate from 28 to 22 over the same period.
The MSP of raw jute (TD-3 grade) has been fixed at ₹5,650 per quintal for the 2025-26 season, ensuring a return of 66.8% over the all-India weighted average cost of production, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) said in a statement.
"The approved MSP of raw jute for Marketing season 2025-26 is in line with the principle of fixing MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times all India weighted average cost of production as announced by the Government in the Budget 2018-19," it added.
The government hopes to strengthen India’s position in the global jute market by incentivizing cultivation while reducing dependency on plastic-based packaging.
Though jute products make up for key exports from the country, the domestic production of the cash crop has been on a decline due to several factors.
These include competition from cheaper synthetic alternatives like plastic replacing it in packaging, while outdated machinery, poor quality control, and lack of modernization have raised production costs and reduced demand, further weakening the industry.
However, the revised MSP is anticipated to bring a more robust and equitable growth trajectory for the industry.
The Centre is continuously encouraging farmers in jute production, assuring them to buy at MSP, commerce minister Piyush Goyal, who briefed the media about the Cabinet decisions, said.
"The output and production of jute however is the function of the farmer's interest, and on what product gives them the best value," he added.
Goyal also said the union cabinet has been apprised of the accelerated decline in maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, mortality rate for those under five years, and total fertility rate and the progress in respect of various diseases programmes like TB, Malaria, Kala-Azar, Dengue, Tuberculosis, Leprosy, Viral Hepatitisapart from new initiatives undertaken such as National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.
"A key achievement of NHM has been the significant increase in human resources within the healthcare sector. In FY 2021-22, NHM facilitated the engagement of 269,000 additional healthcare workers, including General Duty Medical Officers (GDMOs), specialists, staff nurses, ANMs, AYUSH doctors, allied healthcare workers, and public health managers," the cabinet statement said.
"Additionally, 90,740 Community Health Officers (CHOs) were engaged. This number grew in subsequent years, with 421,000 additional healthcare professionals engaged in FY 2022-23, including 129,000 CHOs, and 523,000 workers engaged in FY 2023-24, which included 138,000 CHOs," it added.
The union Cabinet approved the continuation of the National Health Mission (NHM) for next five years. The mission is run by the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) and aims to attain universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care services.
“The NHM will be continued for five more years. NHM has fulfilled historic targets over a decade. Approx. 12 lakh healthcare workers 2021-22 were engaged under NHM. In the fight against the covid-19 pandemic, around 220 crore covid-19 vaccine doses were administered nationwide via digital connectivity.”
Goyal said that India has seen significant improvement in the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR). MMR has declined by 83% since 1990. To be sure, this is much higher than the global decline of 45%.
The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has fallen from 39 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 28 in 2020.
“Similarly, the Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) has decreased from 45 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 32 in 2020 which demonstrates a higher decline of 75% in the reduction of mortality in comparison to the global reduction of 60% since 1990 -Union Minister,” Goyal said.
The union minister said 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). These improvements indicate that India is on track to meet its SDG targets for maternal, child, and infant mortality well ahead of 2030.
The Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP) has also been expanded, with over 6.2 million hemodialysis sessions provided in FY 2023-24, benefiting over 453,000 dialysis patients.
“The National Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission, launched in 2023, has screened over 26 million individuals in tribal areas, working toward the goal of eliminating sickle cell disease by 2047,” he said.
Kala-azar elimination efforts have been successful, with 100% of endemic blocks achieving the target of less than one case per 10,000 population by the end of 2023.
The Measles-Rubella Elimination Campaign, under the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 5.0, vaccinated over 347.7 million children, achieving a 97.98% coverage.
“The launch of the U-WIN platform in January 2023 ensures the timely administration of vaccines to pregnant women, infants, and children across India. By the end of FY 2023-24, the platform had expanded to 65 districts across 36 States/UTs, ensuring real-time vaccination tracking and improving immunization coverage,” he said.
The NHM has also focused on strengthening healthcare infrastructure, including the certification of public health facilities under the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS).
Till March last year, around 7,998 public health facilities have been certified, with over 4,200 of them receiving national certification.
NHM has also addressed pressing public health concerns such as tobacco use and snakebite envenoming. The mission has contributed to a 17.3% reduction in tobacco use over the past decade.
The NHM continues to enhance the quality and accessibility of healthcare services across the nation. With significant progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), India is on track to meet its health targets well ahead of the 2030 deadline, the health ministry statement said.
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