Wheat at Rs 2 per kg, rice at Rs 3 to be provided till 2018

The subsidised rates of wheat and rice, given at Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg respectively to over 81 crore people of India, won’t be reviewed till 2018, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

There was a provision for revision of the prices of foodgrains every three years in the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ramvilas Paswan said.

During the Question Hour session, Paswan said “However, we have decided to continue the present scheme till 2018.” The rice is supplied at Rs 3 per kg, coarse grains at Rs 1 per kg and wheat at Rs 2 per kg, under the scheme.

It is the responsibility of the state governments to ensure that no one remains hungry, said Paswan adding that the Centre was doing its best to properly implement the scheme.

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In order to augment the storage capacity in the country, the government formulated Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme in 2008-2009 for construction of storage capacity through private entrepreneurs, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and state government agencies, the minister said.

Under the scheme, investment and construction is done by the private investor or state agencies. As return for investment, FCI guarantees hiring of the godown constructed by a private party for 10 years.

The guarantee period for CWC or state government agencies is nine years. The location and capacity for godowns are identified as per storage requirements by State Level Committees (SLC) and finally approved by the High Level Committee (HLC) headed by Chairman and Managing Director, FCI.

Under PEG scheme, investment for construction of godowns is done by private parties, CWC, SWCs and other state agencies by arranging their own funds and land. No funds are allocated by the government for construction of godowns, he said. Paswan said following a initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the employees of the FCI would now get pension and post-retirement medical benefits.

(With PTI inputs)

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