Centre launches sale of rice at subsidised rate of Rs 29 per kg

New Delhi: The central government on Tuesday started sale of rice at a subsidised rate of Rs 29 per kg in a bid to provide relief to consumers after the price of the staple grain surged by over 15% year-on-year.

The government will sell rice under the brand name ‘Bharat Rice’. Flagging off the retail sale of ‘Bharat Rice’, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the government is making efforts to ensure that daily food items are made available to consumers at affordable rates.

The grain will be sold through around 800 mobile vans and 2,000-odd physical outlets of three cooperatives Kendriya Bhandar, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) spread across the country.

Gradually it will also be made available through other retail outlets and e-commerce platforms, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a statement.

Goyal said the government has started retail interventions to provide relief to consumers in the case where the wholesale intervention to curb price was not showing desired results.

Rice will be made available to consumers at a subsidised rate through Price Stabilisation Fund, which was set up in 2014-15.

The central government through cooperatives also sells wheat and pulses under ‘Bharat’ brand to provide relief to consumers impacted by price rise. Wheat is sold at Rs 27.50 per kg. Both rice and wheat are available in 5 kg and 10 kg packs. Chana dal (pulses) is also being sold by the cooperative agencies at Rs 60 per kg for 1 kg pack and Rs 55 per kg for 30 kg pack.