Government Expands Price Monitoring to 16 More Commodities, Including Besan, Ghee and Banana
Already 22 commodities were being covered under monitoring of daily prices. Now, the price of a total of 38 commodities will be monitored.
The Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, has expanded its Price Monitoring System to include 16 additional commodities from August 1, 2024. This announcement was made by Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, during the launch of Version 4.0 of the Price Monitoring System (PMS) Mobile App today.
Previously, 22 commodities were covered under daily price monitoring. With the inclusion of the new items, the total number of commodities under price monitoring has increased to 38. The newly added commodities include Bajra, Jowar, Ragi, Suji (wheat), Maida (wheat), Besan, Ghee, Butter, Brinjal, Egg, Black Pepper, Coriander, Cumin seed, Red chillies, Turmeric powder, and Banana.
The Department has been collecting daily price data from 550 centres across 34 States and Union Territories. This data provides crucial inputs for policy decisions made by the Government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and analysts regarding the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation. “The 38 commodities now monitored constitute close to 31 percent of the total CPI weights, up from the 26.5 percent covered by the original 22 commodities,” the department said in a press release.
“The increase in coverage of food items under daily price monitoring will play a crucial role in policy interventions to stabilize price volatility in food items and control overall inflation,” the statement added.
To prevent hoarding, stock limits have been imposed on Tur and Desi Chana from June 21, 2024, until September 30, 2024. The import of pulses, including Tur, Urad, Masur, Yellow Peas, and Desi Chana, at zero duty has been allowed to augment domestic supply. A buffer stock of 5 Lakh Tone is being created for release during lean months to ensure availability and affordability.
States can buy rice directly from FCI
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi announced that grain-deficient states can directly purchase from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) without participating in the e-auction from August 1, 2024. The decision has been taken to reduce the huge surplus of stocks before the commencement of the new procurement season.
Under the OMSS, the Department of Food and Public Distribution will directly offload rice to states for Rs 2,800 per quintal (excluding the cost of transportation). Joshi added that if the States/UTs want to procure more than the stipulated 5 kg of free grain per individual, then they can procure that at the same price at Rs 2,800 per quintal instead of the earlier Rs 2,900 per quintal. He also asserted that the sale of atta and rice under the ‘Bharat’ brand which was slated to run till June 30th, 2024 will continue.
