'Govt committed to implement 'Rs 2 a kilo rice' scheme'

Hyderabad, Nov 12: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has ruled out going back on the state government's promise of implementing the 'Rs 2 a kilo rice' scheme.

In an official statement here, he said the government would work for the welfare of the poor and it had taken up the issue of hike in Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy with the Centre. There was a need to provide MSP for 13 varieties of foodgrains in the State, he added.

The Centre, as per the report of the Dr Swaminathan Committee, was planning to invest Rs 25,000 crore for the Rashtriya Krushi Vikas Yojana for the development of agriculture sector, Dr Reddy said yesterday.

He said the Centre and the State would focus more on agriculture sector, which was a must for the development of rural economy.

UNI