The FCI has transported one million tonnes of grain since the lockdown began, said the minister.
NEW DELHI: Food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan assured people that there will be no shortage of foodgrain for ration shops as the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has stepped up transportation to states as per their requirement.
The FCI has transported one million tonnes of grain since the lockdown began, said the minister.
“FCI will take care of food requirement of 810 million poor people entitled to get 5 kg of wheat or rice monthly at subsidised rates under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
We are also prepared to provide them 5 kg free foodgrain for the next three months, as announced under PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY),” said Paswan.
The states have also been allowed to lift foodgrain directly from FCI godowns to meet any requirements over and above NFSA allotment and additional allocation under PMGKAY.
The FCI has planned to offload 25.93 million tonnes of foodgrain, with 18.91 million tonnes of rice and 7.02 million tonnes of wheat, in three months till June. “As on March 31, FCI has a stock of 56.76 million tonnes, with 30.7 million tonnes of rice and 26.07 million tonnes of wheat. We plan to procure additional 56.77 million tonnes of foodgrain till June, which will replenish our stock,” said a senior FCI official, who did not wish to be identified.
Apart from ensuring uninterrupted supply for public distribution, the FCI is providing grains to biscuit manufacturers, flour millers and bulk traders to ease the supply constraint in the market.
Source: indiatimes.com