BENGALURU: Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials on Tuesday said the Centre’s decision to not provide additional rice to Karnataka was not a state-specific stand, but a decision taken in the larger interest of providing foodgrains to all states.
Bhupendra Singh Bhati, general manager of Karnataka Region, said that not only Karnataka but states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal had also requested additional rice during the same period. “The Central government took the decision considering the interest of all states,” he elaborated.
A senior Food Corporation of India official said the central government is providing 5kg of rice based on procurement, and the Centre itself would have increased the quantity to 7-10kg if there was availability.
STOCK POSITION IN FCI KARNATAKA
Bhati, addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, said the stock position of rice in Karnataka is 7,02,647.28 metric tonnes (MT) and wheat is 62,880.13 MT, as on July 31. “For the past year, 18,61,005 MT of fortified rice was issued from depots under the divisional offices of Food Corporation of India, Karnataka, under various welfare schemes, while 22,54,351 MT of non-fortified rice was issued under various government schemes and for ethanol production,” he said.
Bhati said Food Corporation of India is offloading wheat and rice to private buyers under Open Market Sale Scheme through e-auction every week, and appealed to processors/flour millers to take part in the auction in more numbers so that it helps control price rise.
“The reserve price of wheat is fixed at Rs 2,150 per quintal for fair and average quality, and Rs 2,125 per quintal for ‘under relaxed specifications’ variety. The reserve price of rice is at Rs 3,100 per quintal (Rs 73 more per quintal for fortified rice) for private parties,” Bhati said, adding that the process is completely online, simple and transparent.