The Swaminathan Commission is an institutional concept, officially known as the National Commission on Farmers (NCF), which was constituted on November 18, 2004, under the chairmanship of Prof. M.S. Swaminathan. It was created to address the agrarian crisis, farmer distress, and the rise in farmer suicides by assessing the state of Indian agriculture and suggesting measures for sustainable growth. The Commission submitted five reports between December 2004 and October 2006.
The central mechanism of the Commission's recommendations is the "Swaminathan Formula" for calculating the Minimum Support Price (MSP). This formula proposes setting the MSP at a level that ensures a minimum 50% profit margin over the Comprehensive Cost of Production (C2), often termed the C2+50% formula. The C2 cost is the most inclusive measure, covering paid-out costs (A2), the imputed value of family labour (FL), and the imputed rent and interest on owned land and capital. Other key provisions included distributing ceiling-surplus and waste lands, reducing the interest rate for crop loans to 4%, and establishing a "One Nation-One Market" system.
The concept connects directly to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) policy, which is currently recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). While the government announced in 2018-19 that it would ensure a return of at least 50% over the cost of production, this calculation is generally based on the lower A2+FL cost, not the comprehensive C2 cost recommended by the Commission. The full implementation of the C2+50% formula remains a central, unresolved demand of recent nationwide farmers' protests.