The Government of India along with the states have estimated to procure around 495.37 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) rice during the forthcoming Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-21 which is 19.07 percent higher than the 416 LMT procurement estimate of KMS 2019-20 (Kharif Crop). In KMS 2019-20 (Kharif Crop), actual procurement of paddy (in terms of rice) was 420.22 LMT.
To discuss the procurement arrangements for KMS 2020-21, Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD), Government of India, chaired a meeting of state food secretaries through video conference recently.
During ensuing KMS 2020-21, procurement estimates for Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have jumped by 100 percent and more, and for Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar and Jharkhand are higher by 50 percent and more in comparison to KMS 2019-20. The leading states in terms of estimated procurement of rice are Punjab (113 LMT), Chhattisgarh (60 LMT) and Telangana (50 LMT) followed by Haryana (44 LMT), Andhra Pradesh (40 LMT), Uttar Pradesh (37 LMT) and Odisha (37 LMT).
In view of COVID-19, Secretary, DoFPD urged all states to take necessary steps to ensure social distancing during procurement operations. Other issues of states regarding food subsidy were also discussed during the meeting.
