Centre to procure 185 lakh tons of paddy from Punjab this Kharif season

     New Delhi, October 14, 2024: Paddy procurement in Punjab has commenced from 1st October last and the Centre has assured the state to provide all assistance in smooth procurement.

     This year for Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25, Government of India has already approved an estimated procurement of 124 lakh tonnes of rice from Punjab, which is equivalent to 185 lakh tonnes of paddy and the Centre is procuring the same from the State without any restrictions, Union Food Ministry sources said.

     Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi met Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here today, to discuss issues related to the ongoing paddy procurement in kharif marketing season (KMS) 2024-25 in Punjab.

     Procurement of 124.14 lakh metric tonnes of rice was estimated from Punjab last year, in KMS 2023-24, which was 100 per cent achieved.

     More than 2200 Mandis are functional currently in Punjab for paddy procurement this year and as on 13.10.2024, out of total arrival of around 7.0 lakh tonnes of paddy, approximately 6.0 lakh tonnes have already been procured for central pool.

     Paddy procurement in Punjab will continue as usual till 30.11.2024.

     Adequate storage arrangements have been made to avoid any difficulty in smooth operation of paddy procurement. To accommodate the inflow of CMR (Custom Milled Rice), a detailed plan has already been prepared to provide about 40 lakh tonnes of storage space by liquidating previous stocks of wheat as well as that of rice from the covered godowns available in Punjab by December 2024, the Ministry said.

     To ensure that farmers do not face any difficulty during procurement operations, adequate arrangements, including online registration of farmers, integration of land records, digital procurement operations and online transfer of MSP payments, have been made.

     Arrangements have also been made to ensure full payment of MSP to farmers directly into their bank accounts, usually within 48 hours.

     Several other issues which inter alia included review of the rates of Commission on procurement of paddy, updation of WINGS (Warehouse Inventory Network & Governing System) portal and Out Turn Ratio (OTR) of Paddy to Rice were discussed.

     The issue regarding additional transportation charges being incurred by the millers was also discussed.  It was assured that the same will be examined favorably and resolved.

     Revision of the rates of commission charges is under active consideration of the Government and a decision in the matter will be taken shortly. A study on OTR and Driage of Paddy is ongoing at IIT Kharagpur.

     Updation of data/fields on WINGS (Warehouse Inventory Network & Governing System) portal has been done and its visibility to all stakeholders is now available.