NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Wednesday approved a ₹1,200 crore scheme for disposal of chana to states at a discounted rate, which will be utilised for various welfare schemes from the stock of pulses procured under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilization Fund (PSF).
The committee also approved the enhancement of the ceiling on the quantity of procurement under PSS from the existing 25% to 40% in respect of tur, urad and masur lentils.
Under this approved scheme, states are offered to lift 15 lakh metric tonnes of chana at a discount of ₹8 per kg over the issue price of the sourcing state on a first-come-first-serve basis. States utilise these pulses in their various welfare schemes or programmes like mid-day meals, public distribution systems, and integrated child development programmes.
This will be a one-time dispensation for a period of 12 months or till the complete disposal of the 15 lakh metric tonnes stock of chana, whichever is earlier.
The government said that the decisions will also enable the states to make available space for warehouses, which may be required in the coming Rabi season for accommodating fresh stocks procured under the price support scheme which will help in getting a remunerative price of pulses to the farmers and encourage more farmers to grow such pulses by making higher investment and help them in fetching remunerative price for their produce.
Moreover, this also helps in achieving self-sufficiency of such pulses in our country, the government added.
In recent times, the country has witnessed an all-time high production of chana, especially during the last three years under the Price Support Scheme.
The government has made record procurement of chana during Rabi 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. Due to this, 30.55 lakh metric tonne of chana is available with the government under PSS and PSF. In the coming Rabi season also, the production of chana is expected to be good.
This coupled with an increase in minimum support price for chana during 22-23 will entail additional procurement under PSS.
The Cabinet separately approved the proposal of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change for signing an MoU with the government of Nepal on biodiversity conservation. The MoU is targetted to strengthen and enhance the coordination and cooperation in the field of forests, wildlife, environment, biodiversity conservation and climate change, including restoration of corridors and interlinking areas, and share knowledge and best practices between the two countries, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.
The MoU would help in promoting cooperation between the parties in the field of forests, wildlife, environment, biodiversity conservation and climate change, including restoration of corridors and interlinking areas and sharing knowledge and best practices.
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