As a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) takes centre-stage after repeal of the farm laws, various options are being floated to meet the demand of protesting farmers. One of the schemes that has found repeated mentions in various commentaries is the price deficiency payment scheme (PDPS).

       This is something on the lines of the Bhawantar Bhugtan Yojana (BBY) started by the Madhya Pradesh government a few years back. It was to compensate farmers for selling below the MSP without physical procurement of crops. PDPS is part of the broader bouquet of schemes called ...