MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAMVILAS PASWAN)
(a): The Central Government extends price support to paddy, coarse grains and wheat through the Food Corporation of India and State Agencies. All the foodgrains confo- rming to the prescribed specifications offered for sale at specified centers are bought by the public procurement agencies at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The farmers have the option to sell their produce to FCI/State Agencies at MSP or in the open market as is advantageous to them. Foodgrains procured by the State Governments and their agencies are ulti- mately taken over by the FCI for distri- bution throughout the country.
The objective of foodgrains procurement by Government agencies is to ensure that far- mers get remunerative prices for their pro- duce and do not have to resort to distress sale. It aims to service the Targeted Public Distribution System and other welfare schemes of the Government so that subsidised food- grains are supplied to the poor and needy, and to build up buffer stocks of foodgrains to ensure foodgrain security.
(b): The state-wise details of procurement of wheat and rice, allocation and offtake of foodgrains under Targeted Public Distri- bution System (TPDS) and allocation of wheat and rice of special adhoc additional allo- cation during each of the last three years and the current years are at Annexure-I,II, III & IV respectively.
Under the existing Targeted Public Distri- bution System (TPDS), States/Union Terri- tories (UTs) are allocated foodgrains @ 35 kg per family per month to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, including Antyodaya anna Yojana (AAY) families and @ 15 to 35 kg per family per month for Above Poverty Line (APL) families as per their entitlement based on 1993-94 poverty estimates of Planning Commi- ssion and March, 2000 population estimates. The States/UTs who have implemented National Food Security Act (NFSA) are allocated food- grains under TPDS @ 5 kg per month per person belonging to priority category and @ 35 kg per family per month for AAY category on the basis of 2011 population estimates as per their enti- tlement under the Act or the beneficiaries identified by them.
(c): No Madam. There has been no reduction in the normal allocation of foodgrains under TPDS during the said period
(d)&(e): Requests have been received from some States for higher/additional allocation of foodgrains under TPDS. In addition to the normal TPDS allocation, the Government has been allocating additional foodgrains to the States/UT for Below Poverty Line and Above Poverty Line families since 2010-11. During the current year, the Government has allocated additional quantity of 29.86 lakh tons of foodgrains at BPL rates for additi- onal BPL families and 36.59 lakh tons of foodgrains at APL rates for APL families in the States/UTs who have not implemented NFSA so far. Government has also allocated 9.47 lakh tons of additional foodgrains to the States during the current year to meet their additional requirement under TPDS.
(f) The Government has revised the buffer norms of foodgrains for Central Pool from January, 2015 onward. Revised buffer norms are at Annexure-V The revised buffer norms will help in better foodgrains management
