Production of pulses and edible oil may fall short of requirement this year, said K.V. Thomas, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, in Chennai on Saturday. Rice, wheat and sugar output, though, are expected to retain or top last year’s levels, Thomas told a group of journalists after inaugurating the Centenary Building of the National Test House (Southern Region) here.

Thomas said his ministry was “slightly worried” about the pulses and edible oil situation. Chances are, production of pulses and edible oil may come down this year. Even globally, availability of pulses and edible is slightly low. With this in mind, he said, the Government has decided to continue supplying pulses and edible oil at subsidised rates. This year, the subsidy on pulses will be Rs 20 a kg and on edible oil, Rs 15 a litre. States are also allowed to import pulses and edible oil for distribution and it will be subsidised by the Union Government, he said.

Rice, wheat

According to assessments by the Meteorology Department and the Ministry of Agriculture, production of rice and wheat this year will be as good as last year’s, Thomas said. Last year, production of paddy was around 103 million tonnes. For wheat, it was to the tune of 94 million tonnes. More or less, the same quantity is expected this year as well, he said.

He said his department has discussed with various State Government officials for procurement of rice and wheat. All arrangements have been made, including providing jute bags. A meeting of food and public distribution ministry officials of all States has also been called for on October 29 and 30, in Delhi. All other procurement details will be worked then, he said.

On storage capacities, he said, five years ago it was store 55 million tonnes for food grains. Now, it has been expanded to 75 million tonnes. By the end of this year, a further 45 lakh tonnes will be added. About 151 lakh tonnes of fresh capacity will be added by the end of 2013. Besides, two million tonnes of silos will also be constructed. “Hence, I don’t see any problem as far as the storage issue is concerned,” Thomas said.

Regarding sugar, he said, it was projected at 240 tonnes last year. However, 262 lakh tonnes were produced, while the need was only 220 lakh tonnes. This year, the projection is at 230 lakh tonnes, which is quite sufficient. “We think, even this year, sugar production will surpass the projection and go up to 240-245 tonnes,” he said.

PDS computerisation

The Union Government has decided to computerise the public distribution system end-to-end — from the godowns of Food Corporation of India to State-run ration shops, each link in the chain will be computerised. It is an equal joint venture funded by the Union and respective State Governments, he said.

Earlier, there were 20 crore ration cards in the country. After the computerisation process began in some States, two crore cards were found to be bogus and were eliminated from the system, he said. “The PDS system has to be modernised. All the loopholes are to be plugged to strengthen the system, and make it more efficient,” he said.

Food security Bill

Talking about the Food Security Bill, he said the Bill is being considered by the Parliament Standing committee, and is likely to be passed. And, the panel is expected to submit its opinion in a month’s time. “The Bill may be passed in the coming Winter Session,” he said.

Answering a question on wheat exports to Iran, he said it was happening under the Open General License scheme. The central pool has 80.5 million tonnes of wheat, while what is required for public distribution is only 55 million tonnes. So, exports will continue till the need to stop it arises, he said.

On the food subsidy bill and whether the Government plans any cut, he said the Government is bound to distribute food items at subsidised rates. At present, he said, food subsidy alone accounts for Rs 88,000 crore, and it will continue. “There is nothing to be worried,” he said.

> ravikumar.ramanujam@thehindu.co.in

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