Foodgrains

A relook at providing free foodgrain: Reforming PMGKAY for the future

The proportion of ineligible beneficiaries under PMGKAY is slightly lower at the national level. India has at present 192 million ration cards issued to households

Karnataka transporters strike over late dues; Anna Bhagya food supply hit

Transporters halt foodgrain movement across Karnataka over unpaid dues spanning six months; halting delivery of govt food scheme

Crop cutting surveys ramped up for better farm production estimates

The CCEs are a method used to estimate crop yield by harvesting a small, randomly selected area of a field

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

Govt sets foodgrain production target for 2025-26 at 354.64 mn tonnes

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

India's farm sector is becoming rainfall-resistant, suggests study

Warehousing capacity and foodgrains production also show a 'weak correlation'

Grain-based ethanol makers urgently seek a hike in procurement price

They demand uniform prices be fixed for ethanol produced from all grain sources

India's foodgrain production hits record 332.22 MT in 2023-24: Govt

India's foodgrain production reached a record 332.22 million tonne in the 2023-24 crop year ended June, driven by bumper wheat and rice output, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. The final estimate for 2023-24 shows an increase of 2.61 million tonne from the previous year's 329.6 million tonne, the ministry said in a statement. Rice production touched a record 137.82 million tonne, up from 135.75 million tonne in 2022-23. Wheat output also hit a high of 113.29 million tonne as compared to 110.55 million tonne the previous year. However, pulses production declined to 24.24 million tonne from 26.05 million tonne and oilseeds output fell to 39.66 million tonne from 41.35 million tonne. The ministry attributed the decline in pulses, coarse cereals, soybean and cotton production to "drought-like conditions in southern states, including Maharashtra and prolonged dry spell during August especially in Rajasthan". Sugarcane production decreased to 453.15 million tonne from 490.53

Error in data robs Meghalaya villagers of PDS entitlement for 13 years

A village with over 50 households in Meghalaya's South West Khasi Hills district has not received foodgrains under the public distribution system for over 13 years, local MLA Renikton Tongkhar told the Assembly on Wednesday. Tongkhar raised the issue during a call attention motion, referencing a newspaper report that highlighted how the villagers of Domtynrong have been deprived of food grains for more than a decade and have also been excluded from government schemes for over 20 years. In response, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Comingone Ymbon acknowledged the issue, explaining that Domtynrong was inadvertently excluded from the state's public distribution system due to an error in the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) of 2011. "In 2011, Domtynrong village was mistakenly classified as uninhabited leading to its exclusion from the NFSA beneficiary list," Ymbon said. The SECC 2011 data serves as the Centre's database for identifying fixed beneficiaries of the NFSA allotted fo

China proposes new curbs on grain imports in order to boost local prices

The move, ahead of a forecast bumper grains harvest this year, is the latest effort by China to ease domestic oversupply and bolster local prices

Centre asks states to step up vigilance on yellow peas, other pulses stock

Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Wednesday directed state governments to step up vigilance on pulses stock, especially imported yellow peas, and enforce weekly stock disclosure on stockholding entities effective April 15 amid reports of some varieties of imported pulses not reaching the market. After a virtual meeting with importers, customs and state officials and other stakeholders in the pulses industry, Khare said pulses stocks in warehouses located in major ports and in industry hubs should be verified from time to time and "strict action should be taken on stockholding entities found to be reporting false information on stock disclosure portal". In the meeting, the secretary told states and Union territories that there is a need to step up vigilance over the stock position and price trends in respect of pulses to prevent hoarding and market manipulation, an official statement said. Apart from the five major pulses -- tur, urad, chana, masur and moong, the state ...

Decadal perspective: Foodgrain production up 20% under the Modi govt

Electronic National Agriculture Market has integrated 1,361 mandis and 180 million farmers over a period of time

Government approves 100% packaging of food grains in diversified jute bags

The reservation norms in present proposal would further protect the interest of domestic production of raw jute and jute packaging material in India

810 mn dependent on free foodgrains from govt due to inflation: Mayawati

BSP chief Mayawati Wednesday said neither the freedom fighters nor the architect of the Indian Constitution Bhimrao Ambedkar would have thought that more than 81 crore poor people of the country would be dependent on free foodgrains from government as she slammed the Centre for rising inflation. Paying tributes to Ambedkar on his death anniversary, she said the condition of the poor, labourers, farmers, small businessmen, and the middle class could have been improved considerably had the Constitution been implemented in the right manner. "Immense reverence to Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, the messiah of the poor, labourers, Dalits, tribals and backward classes of the 140-crore strong India and the architect of the country's humanitarian and egalitarian constitution, on his death anniversary," Mayawati said in a post on X. On the occasion, she, however, took potshots at the Union government, saying neither the freedom fighters nor Ambedkar could have thought of the plight

Farm GVA growth slows to 1.2% in second quarter amid uneven rains

The sluggish growth in the sector can be attributed to weak harvest activity during July-September and most inputs coming from residual rabi crops

Centre extends PMGKAY free foodgrain scheme for another 5 years till 2029

Extending the scheme could provide some relief to the marginalised sections from high cereal prices

Foodgrains free of cost to 800 mn people under PMGKAY for 1 yr: Food Min

The Centre on Wednesday said it is providing foodgrains free of cost to over 80 crore people under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKAY) for a period of one year starting January 1, 2023. Addressing a public rally in Durg (Chhattisgarh) recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government's free ration scheme PMGKAY has been extended for the next five years. The opposition Congress Party accused the announcement of being in violation of the election code of conduct. Elections are currently being held in five states. In an official statement, the food ministry said that the Centre is "providing food grains free of cost to Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households and priority households (PHH) beneficiaries under *PMGKAY* for a period of one year beginning from 1st January 2023." In December last year, the Centre decided to subsume the PMGKAY, which was launched in 2020 to provide additional foodgrains free of cost, with the National Food Security Act ...

Asean-India joint statement stresses on promoting public food stockholding

In their joint statement, Asean-India leaders emphasised on promoting efforts for public food stockholding for food security programmes and exploring exports of foodgrains

India's grain stockpiles crucial to PM Modi's pre-election strategy

Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, campaigning to be re-elected for a third term, are facing widespread frustration about rising prices, a concern that has brought down past governments

Russia halts grain deal as bridge to Crimea struck, claims Ukraine strike

The grain deal was hailed as preventing a global food emergency when it was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last year, halting a de facto blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia