Launching the retail sale of ‘Bharat Rice’, Union Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized the government’s commitment to providing daily food items to consumers at affordable prices. In a move to alleviate the burden on consumers amid a more than 15% year-on-year increase in the price of the staple grain, the central government initiated the sale of rice at a subsidized rate of Rs 29 per kilogram on Tuesday.
Under the brand name ‘Bharat Rice’, the government will commence the sale of rice. Union Minister Piyush Goyal, inaugurating the retail sale, reiterated the government’s commitment to providing daily food items to consumers at reasonable prices.
The rice will be available through approximately 800 mobile vans and around 2,000 physical outlets operated by three cooperatives: Kendriya Bhandar, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF), distributed across the nation.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution stated that the rice will eventually be offered through additional retail outlets and e-commerce platforms.
Minister Goyal emphasized that the government has initiated retail interventions to alleviate consumer concerns when wholesale measures to control prices have not yielded the expected outcomes.
Rice will be accessible to consumers at a subsidized rate through the Price Stabilization Fund established in 2014-15.
The central government, in collaboration with cooperatives, also offers wheat and pulses under the ‘Bharat’ brand to mitigate the effects of price increases on consumers. Wheat is priced at Rs 27.50 per kilogram, and both rice and wheat are obtainable in 5 kg and 10 kg packages. Additionally, Chana dal (pulses) is being retailed by cooperative agencies at Rs 60 per kilogram for a 1 kg pack and Rs 55 per kilogram for a 30 kg pack.
