Insta
A labourer takes a break from unloading sacks of onions from a truck. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)
In a bid to keep food prices in check during the festival season, the Centre on Tuesday (15 October) directed the states to regularly monitor the supply and prices of staples like onions, pulses, tomatoes, edible oils and oilseeds.
The decision was taken in the meeting of the group constituted for monitoring cartelisation, hoarding, speculative trading with regard to essential food items held under the chairmanship of Secretary, Consumer Affairs, Avinash K Srivastav.
It was decided to ask all the Chief Secretaries of states hold regular meetings with wholesalers, traders, importers, and exporters of such commodities at state and district levels especially during the festive season up to December.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the Agriculture Ministry, the Intelligence Bureau, the Delhi Police, the NAFED, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Delhi government.
The representatives briefed the group about the prevailing scenario with respect to essential food items. It was informed by representatives of Agriculture Ministry that arrivals of Kharif onions have started and prices have since shown stable to a declining trend. These supplies are likely to increase in the coming days and weeks.
It has been decided to augment availability of pulses across the nation and policy interventions will be recommended at the appropriate time.
The committee of police of NCR states will hold regular meetings under the chairmanship of a senior Delhi Police officer to keep watch on hoarding of stocks by the traders near the state borders of Delhi and take suitable action against them.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest