Andhra to sell iodised salt through PDS

The Andhra Pradesh government has made arrangements for supply of iodised salt through its 42,000-strong network of public distribution system (PDS) to consumers at half the market price with immediate effect.

With the Centre's ban on non-iodised salt coming into effect from next month, the AP Civil Supplies Corporation has tied up with the Tamil Nadu Salt Corporation, Chems Food of Gandhidham and another player from Tuticorin to supply iodised salt at Rs 4 per kg to consumers through fair price shops across the state.

Based on the calculation of minimum offtake of 1 kg on each ration card, the corporation has estimated the quantity of salt to be distributed through PDS at 20,000 tonnes a month, according to Bhanwar Lal, commissioner and ex officio secretary of civil supplies department. However, he said the consumer would have the liberty to buy as much salt as he required for his family's consumption over and above 1 kg.

Lal said the government was also encouraging local players, who are into manufacturing of non-iodised salt in small quantities, to undertake iodised salt production for PDS supply.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, N Raghuveera Reddy, minister for agriculture and civil supplies, said the existing 4 per cent VAT applicable on processed salt would be reviewed in this backdrop. He said the iodised salt supply through the public distribution system would be on cost-to-cost basis.

On a pilot basis, the state civil supplies department already introduced sale of iodised salt in fair price shops one-and-a-half months back with an average supply of about 2,000 tonnes a month.

Meanwhile, the state government has ordered the state Markfed to procure 10,000 quintals of red gram, 2,000 quintals of green gram and 2,000 tonnes of urad dal for market intervention as the prices of pulses have shot up in the open market.

Though the production of pulses in the state has gone up by 33 per cent during the current season, prices have spiraled on account of reported failure of crops in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, according to the minister.

Earlier, chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy instructed officials to constitute a price monitoring committee to closely track the prices of essential commodities in the state.