To counter food inflation and speculation, India's government mandates traders, retailers, and processors to declare their rice and paddy stocks by category in all states. They must report Broken, Non-Basmati White, Parboiled, Basmati Rice, and Paddy stocks until further notice.
To address inflation, the government initiates retail sales of 'Bharat Rice' to the public, starting with 5 LMT through NAFED, NCCF, and Kendriya Bhandar at Rs 29/kg, available in 5 kg and 10 kg bags. Initially, sales will be via mobile vans and physical outlets, later expanding to retail chains and e-commerce platforms.
Despite ample FCI stocks and export regulations, domestic rice prices surged by 14.51% last year. To mitigate this, FCI offers quality rice at Rs 29/kg under OMSS, reducing the reserve price to Rs 2900/Qtl and adjusting quantities. Extensive FCI publicity led to record sales of 1.66 LMT rice under OMSS (D) by Jan 31, 2024.