No Fresh Data on Farmer Suicides in 2025; Indian Govt Reiterates Commitment to MSP Reform
23 July 2025, New Delhi: In response to a question in the Lok Sabha regarding the alarming issue of farmer suicides in India, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare clarified that official data on suicides for the years 2024–25 and 2025–26 is not yet available. The data is compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and the latest available statistics pertain to the year 2022, as published in the ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India’ (ADSI) report on the NCRB website.
The question, raised by Member of Parliament Anand Bhadauria, specifically inquired about the alleged 767 farmer suicides in Maharashtra during the first three months of 2025. However, the government stated it could not confirm or comment on this figure as data for 2025 has not been released by NCRB.
In addition, Bhadauria pressed the government on whether it would implement the C2+50% formula for Minimum Support Price (MSP) as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission to prevent further farmer distress and suicides. Responding to this, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ramnath Thakur, reiterated that the government has already been providing MSP at a level of one and a half times the cost of production since the Union Budget of 2018–19.
He further clarified that the current MSP regime is based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), factoring in inputs from State Governments and relevant Central Ministries. From 2018-19 onwards, MSPs for all mandated Kharif, Rabi, and commercial crops have been set with a minimum margin of 50% over the all-India weighted average cost of production, although this margin is calculated using the A2+FL cost formula, not the comprehensive C2 cost as demanded by several farmer groups.
The issue of farmer suicides continues to be a major concern in Indian agriculture policy debates. Activists and farmer leaders have repeatedly called for deeper reforms, including legal guarantees for MSP, debt waivers, and better risk mitigation mechanisms in the face of climate shocks and market volatility.
As of now, the government has not indicated any intent to shift fully to the C2+50% formula but maintains that its MSP policy is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices for farmers.
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