CHENNAI: The sale of onions at a subsidised price of Rs 35 per kg at fair price shops in urban areas and through cooperative stores will commence on Thursday, Minister for Food P Venkataramanan told the Assembly on Tuesday. The sale will be capped at a kilogram per card, he said.
Responding to questions, the minister said that the government had placed orders to procure around 1,000 tonnes of onions as part of measures to stabilise retail prices.
The procurement was undertaken through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF), agencies functioning under the union government’s consumer affairs department.
“Each family card holder will be eligible to purchase 1 kg of onions. Initially, the scheme will cover 8,231 fair price shops that cater to around 80 lakh people. This accounts for 35% of the total ration cards in the state. Depending on the requirement, additional quantities will be procured through Nafed and the NCCF, and distributed accordingly,” he said.
The minister attributed the rise in onion prices to the West Asia crisis, which had pushed up fuel prices, as well as to the decline in production in states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.