Govt extends import subsidy on pulses till September

The government has decided to extend the import subsidy on pulses till September 30 to augment domestic supplies and ease pressure on prices.
    
The decision was taken recently at the meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on food, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
    
According to sources, state-run trading firms State Trading Corporation, MMTC and PEC and co-operative major Nafed will continue to receive a reimbursement to cover any losses they incur on the import of pulses for another six months.
    
The subsidy, which was to expire on March 31, is limited to 15 per cent of the difference between global and local prices.
    
India, the world's largest importer and consumer of pulses, depends on imports, as domestic production is lower than annual demand. This year, domestic production amounted to 14.74 million tonnes against the annual demand of 17-18 million tonnes.
    
According to official data, pulses imports by these firms stood at over 7 lakh tonnes in the 2009-10 fiscal.
    
To ease pressure on prices, the Centre has also decided to offer 6 lakh tonnes of imported pulses at a subsidy of Rs 10 per kg to the state governments till March, 2011, for distribution to ration shops, sources said.
    
Out of the 6 lakh tonnes, three lakh tonnes would be unsold imported pulses allotted for PDS supply in the 2009-10 fiscal.
    
Retail prices of key pulses in Delhi have risen in the last one week, though they are still lower than the rates prevailing a month ago.
    
In Delhi, tur prices have increased by Rs 4 to Rs 72/kg, while urad rates rose by Rs 5 to Rs 67/kg, green gram (moong) by Rs 7 to Rs 85/kg and lentil (masoor) by 6 to Rs 61/kg during the week ended April 7, compared to the week ended March 31.
    
A similar trend was seen in Mumbai, where green gram rose by Rs 8 to Rs 94/kg, tur by Rs 5 to Rs 69/kg and masoor by Rs 3 to Rs 56/kg in the review period.