Chandigarh: The Union Government officially approved a significant relaxation in wheat procurement quality norms for Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Friday, April 17, 2026. This move follows a formal request made by the state on April 9 after unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms severely impacted the standing crop during the peak harvest period. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi confirmed that assessment teams were deployed on April 10 to conduct field evaluations, which eventually paved the way for these revised standards under the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2026–27.
The primary objective of the relaxation is to prevent distress sales by farmers and ensure that the government continues to purchase wheat at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), even if the grains show signs of weather damage. The revised norms include higher permissible limits for shrivelled and broken grains, as well as an increased tolerance for lustre loss (discolouration). These adjustments are expected to speed up the lifting of stocks from the mandis, which had seen a significant slowdown due to initial quality rejections by procurement agencies.
For the agricultural community in Punjab, this decision provides much-needed financial protection against the volatile weather patterns observed this spring. State officials have been directed to ensure that these changes are implemented across all procurement centres immediately to clear the current backlog of grain arrival. The relaxation is particularly timely as it aligns with the government’s broader efforts to stabilize the domestic food supply while supporting the rural economy during a challenging harvest season.
