Union Food Minister K.V. Thomas on Wednesday asked flour millers to help plug leakages under the public distribution system (PDS) and warned them against purchasing any PDS consignment diverted for sale in the open market.
“One of problems that the Government is facing is PDS leakage which is 35-40 per cent. Of this, a large quantity (wheat) is coming to you. I request you not to encourage…We will take serious action,” he told the 73{+r}{+d} annual general meeting of the Roller Flour Millers Federation of India.
plugging loopholes
Efforts were being made to modernise the PDS by plugging loopholes and strengthen storage capacity across the country through setting up intermediate godowns at the village and district level for smooth implementation of the food security law, he said. The UPA Government’s ambitious Food Security Scheme aims to provide a legal right over cheaper foodgrains to about 82 crore people in the country.
Thomas also said that the Government was examining reasons for the undue rise in prices of foodgrains despite high production. “There is always some increase in prices of agri-commodities with regular hike in the minimum support price of these commodities every year. But the inflation in foodgrains should not be this sharp when there is sufficient supply,” he said.
Further, in a bid to keep prices of wheat under check, the Government has eased norms for sale of about 8.5 mt to bulk buyers such as flour millers under the open market sale scheme who can now source it from the local Food Corporation of India depots.
The roller flour millers, who also see a role for themselves in the rollout of the food security law, have made a pitch for distribution of wheat flour or atta fortified with iron and vitamins, instead of subsidised grain under the scheme.
The distribution of fortified atta would make the food security scheme more practical and humane, apart from ensuring nutrition, said Adi Naryan Gupta, President, RFMFI. Besides, keeping prices under check, it would also help plug the reported diversion of highly subsidised grains to the open market and ensure that benefits of the scheme reach the right target.
Food Secretary Sudhir Kumar said that the Centre was in favour of supplying fortified atta instead wheat under the Food Security Act. “We have left this decision to States. I request you to get in touch with the States as there are logistics issue,” Kumar said while advising millers to go in for modernisation by deploying improved technology.
The Rs 20,000-crore flour milling industry also urged the Government to incentivise the exports of value- added wheat products either in terms of offering freight subsidy or duty draw back. There are about 1,200 millers in the country, who process about 20 mt of wheat annually.