States can directly buy rice from FCI, says Food Minister

• Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi announced recently that the States can directly purchase rice from the Food Corporation of India (FCI)

Highlights:

• This direct procurement by the states from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) would happen under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) without participating in e-auction.
• According to the Centre, the decision was taken to reduce the huge surplus stocks ahead of the procurement after this kharif season.
• The States wanted to procure more rice over the stipulated five kg of free grain per individual under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)
  • The Centre will directly offload rice to the States under the scheme.
• Speaking on the PMGKAY, Mr. Joshi maintained that the Centre would continue to provide free foodgrains to about 81.35 crore beneficiaries for a period of five years with effect from January 1, 2024
• The Centre had successfully completed all three phases of replacing custom-milled rice with fortified rice in every scheme of the government.
• It achieved 100% coverage of distribution of fortified rice by March 2024.
• A 4.0 version of the Price Monitoring System (PMS) mobile app was also launched, on which prices of 22 commodities were monitored daily.
  • Now, prices of 38 commodities will be monitored.

Prelims Takeaway

• PMGKAY