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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Ensuring Food Security by Sant Bahadur

Ensuring Food Security by Sant Bahadur

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published Published on Jan 28, 2010   modified Modified on Jan 28, 2010


With a large number of people living on subsistence level of income, the government has to safeguard their interest by ensuring availability of food grains at an affordable price. Success of any policy or programme to this effect depends on growth in agriculture production and procurement of wheat and rice, the main staple foodgrains.

Though the performance of agriculture has not been uniform throughout and its growth rate has varied from 6 per cent to 1 percent due to a host of factors, proper food management has ensured food security for the country despite shortages and steep price rise at global level.

Delayed and deficient rainfall caused drought or drought like condition in 334 districts across fourteen states affecting production of kharif crops. However, an all-time record procurement of 253.8 lakh tonnes of wheat during 2009-10 and an estimated procurement of 260 lakh tonnes in 2009-10 have helped in maintaining very comfortable foodgrain stocks with government agencies. In addition, the Government has decided to create a Strategic Reserve of 50 lakh tonnes of food grains out of the domestic procurement over and above the buffer stock already held by FCI.

The stock of wheat in the Central Pool as on 1.12.2009 was 252 lakh tonnes. The stock of rice as on 1.12.2009 was 229 lakh tonnes. With an estimated procurement of 260 lakh tonnes of rice in KMS 2009-10 and the present level of stocks, the requirement of Targeted Public Distribution and other welfare schemes at current level of allocations will be comfortably met.

A number of steps have been taken to check the rise in prices of rice and wheat and to ensure their availability to the common man. The import duty on rice and wheat has been reduced to zero. Export of non-basmati rice and wheat has been banned and stock limits have been imposed on rice to prevent hoarding and black marketeering.

In order to cool inflationary trends in food economy, the Government has undertaken sale of wheat under Open Market Sale Scheme. The rate of wheat and rice under this scheme is subsidized, so that the consumers can be benefited. Allocations have been made through a number of channels so as to increase the spread as well as coverage and thereby augment market availability.

A total of 20 lakh tonnes of wheat and 10 lakh tonnes of rice has been allocated to States/UT Governments for sale to retail consumers and small processors. 10 lakh tonnes of wheat and 5 lakh tonnes of rice was issued in October 2009 under the first tranche of allocations which was valid up to December 2009. The State Governments were given a further extension of time up to 31st January 2010 to lift these quantities. The second tranche of allocations was released on 16th December 2009 for the quarter January-March 2010. These allocations were at Minimum Support Price (MSP) plus freight from Ludhiana to State capital concerned in the case of wheat and MSP derived price plus average freight in the case of rice. In this manner, Centre subsidized the cost on account of taxes and other procurement incidentals as well as storage and insurance etc. charges. State Governments are expected to sell to retail consumers after factoring in transport cost which will not exceed Rs.200 per quintal. State Governments are reported to have lifted so far 1.81 lakh tonnes of wheat and 3.09 lakh tonnes of rice.

Apart from the retail sale by the State Governments, Central agencies, namely, NCCF and NAFED have also been given directions to sell to retail consumers through their own outlets and those of affiliated cooperative societies. Sale through NAFED and NCCF will also be at the same rates as given to the State Governments.

In order to reduce the prices of atta and other wheat products in the open market, Centre has also allocated 15.18 lakh tonnes of wheat for bulk consumers which is sold through tenders on a weekly basis in a decentralized manner through General Managers, FCI in-charge of regions. The entire process of tendering has been made transparent with very clear timelines for decisions. So far, tenders have been approved for a total quantity of 6.02 lakh tonnes. Further quantities are expected to be approved soon with more and more participants in the tender process.

Tendering is being done on the basis of reserve price which is calculated at the acquisition cost for the year 2008-09 as well as freight to the State capital. In this manner, the Government is subsidizing the differential between the acquisition cost for the year 2009-10 and that of 2008-09.

With a view to further reducing the sale price to the ration card holders, the Government has made an ad-hoc additional allocation of wheat and rice at the rate of 10 kg. per family per month. This will be at MSP/MSP derived price which will be Rs.1080 in the case of wheat and Rs.1492.54 to Rs.1537.3 in the case of rice. Thus, the Government would be subsidizing all other costs beyond MSP, namely, taxes and other procurement incidentals, freight, storage and interest charges.

Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) is already there to protect the poorest sections of society. About 6.52 crore BPL and AAY card holder families are covered under it. Each family gets 35 kg ration every month. The central issue price for wheat is Rs. 4.15 per kg for BPL and Rs. 2, for AAY. For rice, it is Rs. 5.65 a kg for BPL and Rs.3, for AAY. These prices have not been revised since 2002.

To mitigate the effect of increasing prices of foodgrains in the open market, APL allocations were increased for 17 States/UTs to ensure a minimum allocation of 10 kg per APL family per month. Further, additional allocations of 7.63 lakh tonnes comprising 6.18 lakh tonnes of wheat and 1.45 lakh tonnes of rice were made to 12 drought affected States from October to December 2009. Total allocations of foodgrains under APL during the year 2009-10 have thus been significantly higher (70%) at 190 lakh tonnes as compared to 112 lakh tonnes during 2008-09.

Pulses are also distributed to State governments under PDS with a subsidy of Rs.10 per kg. Arrangements are also in place to promote consumption of yellow peas by mounting a campaign and asking NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar and Mother Dairy to distribute it through their selected outlets. The prices of yellow peas are much lower than other lower pulses. Export of pulses (except kabuli chana) has been banned to meet the domestic demand.

Futures trade in key essential commodities have also been banned to prevent speculation in price of food articles.


Press Information Bureau, 27 January, 2010, http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=57350
 

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