Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday slammed the Food Corporation of India (FCI) alleging the state-run foodgrains distribution body is not providing foodgrains to states.
"We want to take grains from FCI but it is not providing foodgrains to the state governments. We are also not getting as a result we have to buy foodgrains from the open market at expensive prices and distribute them to the poor people. This is happening to us too. We have got information that it is happening with other states as well. It is a matter of concern," the chief minister said.
FCI to sell 4.29 lakh tonne wheat, 3.95 lakh tonne rice in e-auction on July 12
FCI on July 7 said it will sell 4.29 lakh tonnes of wheat and 3.95 lakh tonnes of rice from the buffer stock to bulk consumers in the third round of e-auction to be held on July 12. The government is offloading wheat and rice from the FCI stock under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to bulk consumers to improve the domestic supply and control the retail price of rice, wheat and atta.
In the third round of e-auction, the FCI will offer a quantity of 4.29 lakh tonnes of wheat from 482 depots and 3.95 lakh tonnes of rice from 254 depots from across the country, the food ministry said in a statement.
FCI has come out with tenders in this regard. Interested parties may empanel themselves for participation in future e-auctions, it said. The FCI is encouraging more small and marginal end users to participate in the weekly e-auctions so that the stocks reach a wider section of the society, it added.
In the previous e-auction conducted on July 5, a total quantity of 1.29 lakh tonnes of wheat was sold to 1,337 bidders and 170 tonnes of rice to 5 bidders. The weighted average selling price was Rs 2,154.49/quintal for FAQ (Fair and average quality) wheat against the reserve price of Rs 2,150/quintal pan-India whereas weighted average selling price of under relaxed specifications (URS) quality of wheat was Rs 2,132.40/quintal against the reserve price of Rs 2,125/quintal, the ministry said.
The weighted average selling price was Rs 3,175.35/quintal for rice against the reserve price of Rs 3,173/quintal pan-India. The stock declaration by bidders in wheat stock management portal of the government of India is made mandatory for participation in the e-auction for wheat.
What is FCI?
FCI plays a significant role in India's success in transforming crisis management-oriented food security into a stable security system. The primary job of Food Corporation of India which was formed under the Food Corporation Act 1964 is to fulfil the following objectives of the Food Policy:
- Effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers
- Distribution of foodgrains throughout the country for public distribution system
- Maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of foodgrains to ensure National Food Security Since its inception
