Food minister Piyush Goyal stated on Thursday that there was no proposal just before his ministry to enhance the price of foodgrain sold by way of ration shops below the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
The current Economic Survey has advisable an enhance in promoting rates of wheat and rice below the NFSA. It stated that the meals subsidy bill is “becoming unmanageably large” and though it is complicated to lessen the financial expense of meals management in view of increasing commitment towards meals safety, there is a have to have to contemplate the revision of central situation price tag (CIP).
The CIP is the price tag at which wheat and rice are sold at ration shops. There has been no modify in these rates because 2013: wheat at Rs 2/kg and rice at Rs 3/kg. Though the NFSA prescribes revision of the CIP just about every 3 years, this hasn’t been carried out. The Centre’s procurement expenditure routed by way of the FCI has ballooned more than the years and is estimated to be Rs 1.73 lakh crore in FY20.
Asked whether or not there was any program to lessen foodgrain procurement or to expand storage facilities, Goyal stated the meals ministry is closely working with Railways and state governments to expand capacities with silos close to rail infrastructure.
The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), in its rabi 2020 report, had advisable that the open-ended procurement program be reviewed. The CACP had in the previous, also, pitched for direct procurement by private players, below the Private Procurement Stockist Scheme.
“Due to increased procurement of wheat and rice in recent years, the government has emerged as the single-largest buyer of foodgrain. In major wheat producing states like Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, the government procures more than three-fourth of marketed surplus due to the open-ended procurement policy. This policy is driving out private sector from the market and has adversely affected crop diversification,” the CACP stated.
Goyal also stated that the government has ready a roadmap for the Food Corporation of India to increase the high-quality of grain. The roadmap, as reported by FE on January 25, contains conducting third-party audits, junking archaic regular specifications for bought goods, implementing finish-to-finish digitisation and searching for feedback from ration shop beneficiaries.
Earlier, meals ministry officials stated in a presentation that throughout the existing procurement season in Uttar Pradesh, biometric verification of farmers is becoming carried out to make certain they get payment in their bank accounts inside 72 hours. Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have showed interest to implement it from next season, officials stated. Goyal, on the other hand, refrained from commenting if biometric verification has been produced mandatory in Uttar Pradesh.
On complaints by farmer leaders of the government not facilitating payment of sugarcane dues in Uttar Pradesh, estimated at about Rs 10,000 crore, the minister stated that final year’s arrears have virtually been cleared and mills will spend this year’s dues quickly.
Goyal, who is also in charge of the division of customer affairs, stated the government has been strictly enforcing guidelines concerning show of ‘country of origin’ on all merchandise on e-commerce organizations. “So far, 77 notices have been issued for violation of Packaged Commodity Rules. Out of that, five companies have compounded the offence. Action will be taken against remaining companies as per the law,” he stated.
He also stated that Bureau of Indian Standard has been profitable in harmonising 84% of its requirements with international requirements to make positive that only fantastic merchandise are imported.