Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi on Thursday flagged off mobile shops to retail onion at a subsidized price of Rs 35 per kg.
The vans are deployed by the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED).
The event marked the commencement of a calibrated and targeted release of onion from the government’s buffer to make the essential vegetables available to consumers at affordable prices.
Addressing the media on the occasion, Joshi said keeping food inflation under control is a priority of the government of India and several direct interventions through price stabilisation measures have played an important role in bringing down inflation rate in recent months.
“The onion buffer stock available with us is 4.7 lakh tonne from the rabi crop. The Price Stabilisation Fund which was started under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims at intervening in the market when prices of essential commodities increase,” Joshi said, adding that the retail sale of onion will provide relief to the consumers across the country.
The targeted disposal of onion from the buffer is an integral part of the Central government’s efforts to control food inflation and maintain a stable price regime.
The targeted disposal of onion is being started with retail sale through outlets and mobile vans of NCCF and NAFED, e-commerce platforms and outlets of Kendriya Bhandar and SAFAL in major consumption centres. The quantity and disposal channels for onion will be enhanced, deepened, intensified and diversified as per the trend in onion prices.
The Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, is monitoring the daily prices of 38 commodities, including onion, reported from 550 centres across the country. The daily price data and the comparative trends constitute key inputs for decisions on the quantum and destinations for release of onion from the buffer.