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Deccan Herald
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
Wastage of FCI food grains came down to 0.2%: Joshi
Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi said: 'Wastage of food grains in storage and transportation by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been brought down to 0.2% which was 1% earlier. Modern technology including portals and apps came in handy to achieve this.'After inspecting the Food Corporation of India (FCI) food storage depot and divisional office near Unkal in Hubballi on Friday, he told reporters that surveillance and supervision to check the wastage of food grains during storage and transportation is being effectively done through 'Depot Darpan', and 'Anna Chakra' with 1.74 lakh tonnes of storage capacity are being constructed on FCI lands with public-private-partnership (PPP), including a 13,000 tonne godown at Bammapur in Hubballi, he the year 2024-25, 13,553 metric tonnes of food grains were issued from the godown here, while 6.08 lakh MT rice and 29,423 MT wheat stocks were issued for the beneficiaries of different schemes in neighbouring officials informed that the state government is purchasing 2.42 lakh tonnes of rice every month from the FCI under 'Anna Bhagya' scheme since February 2025, while 7,811 tonnes of rice have been provided to the state government for midday meal scheme in schools. Food grains are also being procured in the state, through the central government-backed minimum support price scheme for rice, ragi, jowar etc. Procurement can be increased if the process starts earlier, they visit'Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar went to New Delhi to meet AICC leader Rahul Gandhi regarding CM's post and for their survival. Meeting Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was just for their show, and in fact, they were there to meet Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi not giving appointment shows how adamant the fake Gandhi family is, and what is the eligibility of Siddaramaiah,' Joshi know what the internal agreement (regarding power sharing) is in Congress, and how severe is the infighting there. Either Siddaramaiah or Shivakumar is telling lie. Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge should give clarity, he said. Karnataka has become a heaven for terrorists, and they feel those in power here are their friends and well-wishers, Joshi also said state BJP president would be elected through election process which the party always follows, while the leadership is observing the statements of all the leaders.
The Hindu
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Steps being taken to ensure proper distribution of quality foodgrains through FCI, says Joshi
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi has said that fake BPL cards will be identified and cancelled, while steps are being taken to ensure proper distribution of quality foodgrains to eligible card holders. Speaking to presspersons after visiting the warehouse of Food Corporation of India (FCI) at Unkal in Hubballi on Friday, Mr. Joshi said that the FCI is working continuously to ensure that beneficiaries receive foodgrains as per National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013. The Union Minister said that technology is being used and remedial measures are being taken to minimise wastage during storage. 'Instructions have been issued on proper storage of foodgrains. Also, GPS has been installed in trucks carrying foodgrains to track their movement and ascertain whether they reach the right destination,' he said. He said that 13,553 tonnes of foodgrains have been released during 2024-25 from the FCI warehouse at Unkal. The Hubballi Division Office caters to the needs of Belagavi, Vijayapura, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Gadag, Bagalkot and Haveri districts. Mr. Joshi said that during the current fiscal year, 24,85,799 tonnes of rice have been released under NSFA scheme. 'To control the prices of rice and wheat, the Union government has sold 4,60,959 tonnes of rice and 1,05,065 tonnes of wheat in the open market. This apart, under the PM Poshan scheme, 1,06,895 tonnes of foodgrains have been released for providing mid-day meal to schoolchildren. From February 2025, the State government has been purchasing 2,42,000 tonnes of rice per month from FCI for the Anna Bhagya scheme. For the mid-day meal scheme of Classes IX and X students, 7,811 tonnes of rice are being sold to the State government under the open market scheme,' he said. He said that under the Central government-supported MSP scheme, procurement of paddy, ragi and jowar is being done in the State. 'In Karnataka, 33,4 lakh tonnes of paddy are being produced out of which 510 tonnes have been procured during the current fiscal. As much as 9.44 lakh tonnes of ragi and 7.72 lakh tonnes of jowar are being produced in the State out of which 3.45 lakh tonnes and 1.93 lakh tonnes have been procured, respectively. If the procurement process is started early, then the procurement quantity can been increased,' he said. Senior officials of FCI, including Jacintha L., B.O. Maheshwarappa, Devinder Singh, and others were present.
The Hindu
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
50th anniversary of Emergency will sensitise next generation to dark days of democracy, says Joshi
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi has said that the 50th anniversary of the Emergency declared in the country by the then Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi is being observed to sensitise the next generation to the dark days of democracy in the country's history. He was speaking at a 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha' and remembrance of the 50th year of the struggle during Emergency organised by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Dharwad on Sunday evening. 'Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975 by Indira Gandhi who ruled for 21 months without Constitutional and moral authority. During that time, protests were suppressed, many protestors were imprisoned and several people lost their lives,' he said. 'Indira Gandhi was accused of misusing her power during the elections by Raj Narain who took the matter to court. Justice H.R. Khanna of the Allahabad High Court delivered the verdict in that case. That judgment copy is not available anymore,' he said. Mr. Joshi said that while the former Prime Minister late Jawaharlal Nehru initiated the first Constitutional amendment, his daughter Indira Gandhi later made several amendments, including Articles 38, 39, and 42. He said that having imposed Emergency on the people and making them suffer, the Congress is now claiming that the Constitution is in danger. The Union Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has developed immensely in the last 11 years and become the fourth largest economy in the world. The former judge S.H. Mittalkod presided over the event. Hubballi-Dharwad Mayor Jyoti Patil, the former MLAs Amrut Desai and Seema Masuti and a host of municipal councillors and BJP leaders were persent.
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Amid import pressure: Govt to promote pulses cultivation in 7 states via seed distribution drives
The Department of Consumer Affairs, which comes under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and is responsible for monitoring prices of essential commodities, plans to promote cultivation of two pulses — arhar (tur) and urad — through seed distribution campaigns across a dozen districts in seven states, a top official said Thursday. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said that the promotion of arhar and urad cultivation through seed distribution campaigns would be carried out in the selected districts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Manipur and Tripura. For this, National Cooperative Consumer's Federation of India Limited (NCCF), which comes under the ministry, has begun preparations, she said. She said the pilot campaign in two districts of Jharkhand last year was encouraging and it is being extended to other states. In the ongoing kharif season (2025), the arhar and urad cultivation will be promoted in Palamu, Latehar and Garhwa in Jharkhand; Mirzapur and Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh; Gaya and Jehabad in Bihar; and Vijaypura in Karnataka. These districts were identified on two criteria — they are rainfed and they have 'Aspirational Blocks' identified by the NITI Aayog. Over `1 crore will be spent on distribution of the seeds in these districts and the government will ensure 100 per cent procurement based on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) if the market prices go down, she said. For the kharif marketing season 2025-26, the MSPs of arhar and urad have been fixed at `8,000 and `7,800 per quintal, respectively. India imports about a dozen pulses from different countries. In 2023-24, India's pulses imports rose to a record high of 47.38 lakh tonnes, almost double of 24.96 lakh tonnes in 2022-23. The government has hiked the MSP for pulses in recent years.
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Amid import pressure: Govt to promote arhar, urad cultivation in 7 states via seed distribution campaigns
The Department of Consumer Affairs, which comes under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and is responsible for monitoring prices of essential commodities, plans to promote cultivation of two pulses – arhar (tur) and urad– through seed distribution campaigns across a dozen districts in seven states, a top official said Thursday. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said that the promotion of arhar and urad cultivation through seed distribution campaigns would be carried out in the selected districts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Manipur and Tripura. For this, National Cooperative Consumer's Federation of India Limited (NCCF), which comes under the ministry, has already begun preparations, she said. Khare said that the campaign was launched as a pilot in two districts of Jharkhand last year and after encouraging results it is being extended to other states. In the ongoing kharif season (2025), the arhar and urad cultivation will be promoted in Palamu, Latehar and Garhwa in Jharkhand; Mirzapur and Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh; Gaya and Jehabad in Bihar; and Vijaypura in Karnataka. These districts have been identified on two criteria – first they are rainfed, and the second they have 'Aspirational Blocks' identified by the NITI Aayog. Over Rs one crore will be spent on distribution of pulses seeds in these districts and the government will ensure 100 per cent procurement based on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in these districts if the market prices go down, she said. A report prepared by the NCCF on pilot conducted in two districts of Jharkhand shows that the seed distribution increased productivity. 'This initiative has significantly increased the income levels of the farmers by increasing the productivity by almost 40-50%. Also the farmers have observed the benefit of using the high-yielding variety of seeds. It highlights the successful efforts in boosting pulses production in the region and the positive impact on farmer profitability,' noted the report submitted to the department. India is dependent on imports to meet its pulses demand. It imports about a dozen pulses from different countries. In 2023-24, India's pulses imports rose to a record high of 47.38 lakh tonnes, almost double of 24.96 lakh tonnes in 2022-23. The government has hiked the MSP for pulses in recent years. For the kharif marketing season 2025-26, the MSPs of arhar and urad have been fixed at `8,000 per quintal and `7,800 per quintal, respectively.
