The government of India has decided to start the retail sale of rice to consumers under the brand Bharat Rice
To manage the overall food inflation and to prevent evil speculation, the Government of India has decided that the stock position of Rice must be declared by Traders, Wholesalers, Retailers, Big Chain Retailers and Processors, and Millers in all States and Union Territories, until further orders. The respective legal entities i.e. Traders/Wholesalers, Retailers, Big Chain Retailers, Processors/Millers have to declare the stock position of Paddy and Rice in categories such as Broken Rice, Non-Basmati White Rice, Parboiled Rice, Basmati Rice, and Paddy. The entities are expected to update it every Friday on the portal (https://evegoils.nic.in/rice/login.html) of the Department of Food and Public Distribution. The stock position of Rice shall be declared by these entities within 7 days of the issue of the order.
Further, to check inflationary trends in the food economy, it has been decided to start retail sales of ‘Bharat Rice’ to general consumers. In the first phase, 5 LMT of rice has been allocated for retail sale under the ‘Bharat Rice’ brand through 3 agencies viz NAFED, NCCF and Kendriya Bhandar. The retail price for the sale of Bharat Rice to general consumers will be Rs. 29/kg. Rice will be sold in 5 Kg and 10 Kg Bags. The Bharat Rice will be available for purchase from mobile vans and physical outlets of the three central co-operative agencies to begin with, and it will also be available through other retail chains including e-commerce platforms very soon.
The domestic prices of rice are increasing despite a good crop this Kharif, ample stocks with FCI in the pipeline and various regulations in place on Rice exports. The retail prices have increased by 14.51 per cent over the past year. To curb the prices of rice, various steps have already been taken by the Government.