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Foodgrain Sales
States can add 79 lakh more beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act that provides legal entitlement of foodgrains, the Centre said on Tuesday. The National Food Security Act (NFSA), which was passed by the Parliament in 2013, provides for coverage of up to 75 per cent of rural population and up to 50 per cent of urban population. This covers about two-thirds of the total population of the country, which comes to 81.35 crore based on Census 2011, the government said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. "At present, against the intended coverage of 81.35 crore, the States/UTs have identified only 80.56 crore persons. Still, there is a scope of identification of 0.79 crore more beneficiaries under the NFSA," said Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. She informed that Section 9 of the Act provides that the total number of persons to be covered in rural and urban areas of the State should be calculated on the basi
India is targeting 354.64 million tonnes of foodgrain production in the 2025-26 crop year starting July on the forecast of better monsoon rains, a senior government official said on Thursday. In the current 2024-25 crop year (July-June), the government had set a target of 341.55 million tonnes of foodgrain production. Foodgrains include paddy, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses. Already, the country's foodgrain production has reached 330.92 million tonnes in the Kharif and rabi seasons of the current 2024-25 crop year. The production estimates for summer (zaid) sowing are yet to be released. The foodgrain production in the summer season (zaid), sown between February and June which is between rabi harvest and kharif sowing season, stood at 16.5 million tonnes in 2023-24. Among foodgrains, the government has set a target of 147.35 million tonnes of rice production for 2025-26 crop year. Paddy is grown in all three seasons. The country is estimated to have produced 136.44 million tonne
The ban on exports of wheat will continue as India has to ensure adequate supplies of the foodgrain for its domestic market and keep the inflation at check, Union minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said that the procurement of wheat has started and the numbers for the first week of buying are "very" satisfactory. "I could believe that we will have a good harvest despite the unseasonal rains...We do believe that we will have to ensure adequate supplies for the Indian market and once the procurement period is over, we believe that it will be important that inflation is also contained in the country and therefore it is important that the wheat exports continue to remain banned," the commerce and industry and consumer affairs, food and public distribution minister told reporters here. He is here on a two-day visit to meet leaders and businesses in order to enhance economic ties between India and Italy. India, the world's second-largest wheat producer, banned wheat exports in Ma
Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra on Wednesday said the prices of wheat in wholesale and retail markets have come down by about Rs 5 per kg after the Centre's decision to sell 3 million tonnes of the grain in the open market, and asserted that more steps will be taken if required to ease rates. The government is closely monitoring the prices of wheat and atta (wheat flour) and, if needed, will take more steps, including offering more wheat under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS), to bring down the prices and provide relief to consumers, Chopra told reporters here. He said the government is not considering any proposal as of now to lift the ban on wheat exports, which was imposed in May last year after a sharp fall in its procurement. "From the time the OMSS was announced in January, wheat prices have come down. Wheat prices in wholesale markets are ruling less than Rs 2,500 per quintal," he said, and hoped that the prices would fall further in the coming days. The government of
A wartime agreement that unblocked grain shipments from Ukraine and helped temper rising global food prices will be extended by four months, the United Nations and other parties to the deal said on Thursday, preventing a price shock to some of the world's most vulnerable countries where many are struggling with hunger. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the 120-day extension a "key decision in the global fight against the food crisis". Struck during Russia's war in Ukraine, the initiative established a safe shipping corridor in the Black Sea and inspection procedures to address concerns that cargo vessels might carry weapons or launch attacks. The deal that Ukraine and Russia signed in separate agreements with the UN and Turkey on July 22 was due to expire on Saturday. Russia confirmed the extension but said it expected progress on removing obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilisers. Ukraine and Russia are key global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil