ORMAS close to signing pact with Reliance Retail

Orissa Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS), an apex body under the state government’s panchayati raj department, is close to enter into a tie-up with Reliance Retail for procurement of food products from the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and the Self-Help Promoting Institutions (SHPIs) in the state.

According to sources, Reliance Retail will first allow the SHGs to sell their products at its Reliance Fresh outlets for a period of 45 days. During these 45 days, the retailer will evaluate the demand and sales of such products and then decide on the scale of procurement.

“We have identified 22 food products which will be sold at dedicated counters of the Reliance Fresh outlets throughout Orissa and the process is set to commence by the end of this month. These products will be sold by the urban SHGs and ORMAS is playing the role of a facilitator in the process”, BN Das, executive director, ORMAS told Business Standard.

Reliance Retail is likely to go for direct procurement of these products from the SHGs and the SHPIs depending on their volume of sales over a period of 45 days, he added.