The central government has allowed procurement of gram and lentils in 13 states of the country at minimum support price (MSP) during the lockdown amid coronavirus crisis.
New Delhi| The central government has allowed procurement of gram and lentils in 13 states of the country at minimum support price (MSP) during the lockdown amid coronavirus crisis without any state formally proposing for the procurement.
“States can purchase 25% of the total production of these commodities at MSP. We have released Rs 1250 crore for the procurement of 1.71 lakh tonnes of chana and 0.87 lakh tonnes of masur,” agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on twitter.
The minimum support price of gram is fixed at Rs 4875 a quintal while lentils can be bought at Rs 4800 a quintal.
“Government agencies like NAFED, SFAC and other designated agencies would continue to undertake procurement of masur and chana at MSP. The losses, if any incurred by the nodal agencies in such operations may be fully reimbursed by the Government as per the guidelines,” told a senior official from agriculture ministry.
The procurement will begin states like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Punjab, Jharkhand, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Uttrakhand, and Tamilnadu.
The procurement on food grains has also been allowed by the central government during the period of lockdown by extending exemptions to procuring activities.
“Due to lock down, we could not hold meetings with states for fixing targets. We have asked them to go ahead with their plans,” a food ministry official informed.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
