Centre likely to distribute 3 months' ration in one go to clear stocks

With surplus foodgrain stocks and more wheat arriving, the Centre may allow states to lift and distribute three months' ration quota in advance to prevent a storage crunch

With the Food Corporation of India (FCI) sitting on stockpiles of wheat and rice, the Centre may permit states to lift three months of their ration quota in one go and distribute it free among beneficiaries. 

Permitting states to distribute three months’ ration in one go to public distribution system (PDS) beneficiaries is a routine exercise undertaken to clear warehouse stocks ahead of new arrivals.  

“We do this regularly to allow states to lift three months’ ration quota to clear space from our warehouses. It is to also manage inventories, and even during Covid, the government had distributed two months’ ration quota in one go,” a senior official said. 

He said talks are being held at all levels and a final decision is expected soon. He, however, denied that the measure had anything to do with the prevailing border crisis. 

According to officials, India distributes around 3.3-3.4 million tonnes of rice and 1.5-1.6 million tonnes of wheat per month to almost 800 million beneficiaries across the country for free under the revamped Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojana. 

In total, around 4.9-5 million tonnes of grains per month are distributed to the beneficiaries, totalling nearly 60 million tonnes in a year. The per beneficiary entitlement is 5 kgs per month of either wheat or rice or both. 

In contrast, foodgrain stocks in the central pool — as on April 27 — was estimated to be around 66.17 million tonnes (both wheat and rice) in the warehouses. This is more than the total foodgrains sold through the PDS in a year. 

In short, when it comes to wheat and rice, India has more than one-year’s stocks in hand as on April 27. 

An official said the ration quota of June, July and August will be distributed in May and states will have to lift it by May 31. They also get a grace period for this. 

According to the latest data as on February 28, FCI had combined grains storage of around 86 million tonnes.  

These included those from the state governments and hired from private agencies. Of this, almost 80.21 million tonnes were covered facilities. 

However, with wheat procurement projected to go up this year, the need for additional storage space is being felt.