Govt enhances quantity of pulses buffer stock to 8 lakh tonnes

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday enhanced the quantities of pulses stock by five times to 8 lakh tonnes in 2016 as it seeks to sell lentils at a cheaper rate to provide relief to consumers. A decision was taken at a high-level meeting in which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presided. Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitaraman including secretaries of the ministries were present in the meeting in which discussed on the prices of pulses and other important commodities. “In a prominent decision, the government has decided to enhance the buffer stock of pulses from 1.5 lakh tonnes to 8 lakh tonnes in a high-level meeting,” the Food Ministry said. The buffer stock is being created by acquiring pulses directly from farmers at market prices using the Price Stabilisation Fund. So far, the government has acquired 1.15 lakh tonnes of pulses by state-run agencies such as FCI and SFAC. Of which, more than 10,000 tonnes has been announced to states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu for retail distribution. The buffer stock is being created by domestic gaining as well as through imports in order to address the deficit of 7.6 million tonnes of pulses.