Govt has enough foodgrain stock in Central pool
The Government of India has sufficient foodgrain stocks under the Central Pool to meet the requirement of the NFSA and its other welfare schemes as well as for the additional allocation of PMGKAY. About 159 LMT of wheat will be available as on January 1, 2023, which is well above the buffer norm requirement of 138 LMT of the 1st of January. As on 12.12.2022, around 182 LMT of wheat is available in the Central pool.
The Government of India has sufficient foodgrain stocks under the Central Pool to meet the requirement of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and its other welfare schemes as well as for the additional allocation of Pradhan Mantri-Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
About 159 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat will be available as on January 1, 2023, which is well above the buffer norm requirement of 138 LMT of the 1st of January. As on 12.12.2022, around 182 LMT of wheat is available in the Central pool.
The Government of India is well aware of the price scenario of wheat and is constantly monitoring it regularly on a weekly basis along with other commodities and taking corrective measures, as and when required.
The Government has taken proactive steps to ward off any further price rise and export regulations were imposed with effect from 13.05.2022.
Further, the allocations under NFSA as well as PMGKAY have also been revised in favour of rice for having sufficient wheat stock in the Central pool to cater to the requirements of welfare schemes, according to a release.
The Centre has also enhanced the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat this year to Rs 2125/quintal (qtl) against last year’s MSP of Rs 2015/qtl for RMS 2022-23.
The procurement of wheat next season would commence from April 2023 and, as per initial assessment, there has been a fair increase in the sowing of the wheat crop as compared to last year.
The Centre has ensured that a sufficient stock of foodgrains is available in the Central pool to meet the requirement of all the welfare schemes across the country and prices remain under control.
Though the procurement of wheat during the last season was on the lower side due to lesser production coupled with selling by farmers at prices higher than MSP in the open market consequent to the geopolitical situation, yet enough stock of wheat will still be available in the Central pool to cater to the needs of the country till the time the next wheat crop arrives.
