|
|
|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
|
|
|
2024 Year-end- review for Department of Consumer Affairs
|
|
Saturday, 04 January, 2025, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
|
Our Bureau, New Delhi
|
Following are the major highlights of the activities of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India during the year 2024.
Price Monitoring
Price Monitoring Division oversees the implementation of daily price monitoring of essential food commodities and price stabilisation interventions. The Department collects daily retail and wholesale prices of 22 essential commodities and retail prices of 16 additional commodities from 555 price reporting centers through mobile app viz. Price Monitoring System (PMS). These daily prices constitute critical inputs to take decisions purport to mitigate price surge, market intervention, restricting import-export duties and calibrate the monetary policy. Under Price Stabilisation Fund, government undertakes market interventions to control the volatility in prices of agri-horticultural commodities such as onion, potato, tomato and pulses to protect the interests of consumers. Market interventions primarily involve procurement of these commodities for buffer stock and undertaking strategic market disposals to contain price volatility. Buffer stocking also acts as deterrent for unscrupulous speculations. The procurement of agri-horticultural commodities ensures remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce.
The Price Monitoring Division (PMD) was set up in 1998. Presently, 38 commodities are being monitored by PMD include five item groups i.e., Cereals: Fats: (Groundnut Oil, Mustard Oil, Vanaspati Oil, Soya Oil, Sunflower Oil, Palm Oil, Desi Ghee, Butter), Vegetables: (Potato, Onion, Tomato, Brinjal), Animal Products: (Milk, Egg), Spices: (Black Pepper, Coriander, Cumin Seed, Red Chilli, Turmeric), Fruits: (Banana), Others: (Sugar, Gur, Tea, Salt). In October 2024, Ladakh was added to the price monitoring network with the inclusion of two new centers, Leh and Kargil. This strategic expansion has brought the total coverage to 35 States/UTs.
Price Stabilisation Fund
The Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) was set up with an initial corpus of Rs 500 crore to tackle price volatility in some agri-horticultural commodities viz. onion, potato and pulses to protect the interests of consumers. These commodities are to be procured from farmers/farmer’s association at the time of harvesting and stored for regulated release during lean season to help bring down their prices. The PSF Scheme has now been merged with other components of PM-AASHA scheme of D/o Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Therefore, PSF is now one of the components of PM-AASHA umbrella scheme. However, the PSF Scheme will continue to be managed by D/o Consumer Affairs for price stabilisation interventions and daily price monitoring.
Budget Provision and Deliberations
Budget allocation/AE of Rs 37,489.15 crore has been made under PSF corpus from 2014-15 to 2024-25. This fund was largely utilised for building the dynamic buffer of pulses and onions. The financial year-wise allocation/ utilisation of funds under PSF is Rs 10,000 crore in 2024-25 (BE), Nil in 2023-24 (AE), Rs 0.01 crore in 2022-23 (AE) , Rs 2030.83 crore in 2021-22 (AE), Rs 11,135.30 crore in 2020-21 (AE), Rs 1,713 crore in 2019-20 (AE), Rs 1500 crore in 2018-19 (AE), Rs 3500 crore in 2017-18 (AE); Rs 6900 crore in 2016-17 (AE); Rs 660 crore in 2015-16 (AE); and Rs 50 crore in 2014-15 (AE). As per Government’s decision, the PSF was transferred to the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) w.e.f. 1st April, 2016. Price stabilisation operations are determined at the Centre by the Central Price Stabilisation Fund Management Committee (PSFMC) which was reconstituted on transfer of Scheme and is now headed by Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs. The Corpus Fund is managed by Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC). There is also a Sub- committee for investing surplus from PSF corpus chaired by Financial Adviser, M/o CA, F&PD. Till now, 59 meetings of the Re-constituted PSMFC have been held. In the States/UTs, the Price Stabilisation operations are to be managed by the State level PSFMC and operated out of the State level Corpus Fund. Interest free advances from the PSF corpus may be made both to Central Agencies and to State level Corpus. The State level Corpus is created with a sharing pattern between GoI and State in the ratio of 50: 50, which is 75:25 in case the North Eastern States. On 9th December 2015, Government approved creation of buffer stock of 1.5 lakh tonnes of pulses. Subsequently, after due deliberation, it was recommended that a larger buffer stock of around 20 lakh tonnes of pulses would be needed for effective market intervention. This was approved by the Government on 12.09.2016. Government created a buffer of 20.50 lakh MT of pulses through both domestic procurement and imports by RMS 2017-18 from which regular disposal was undertaken.
Conversion of Chana, Moong and Masur stocks for retail disposal under Bharat Dal brand
Chana Dal: During Phase II, the Central Government launched the sale of Chana dal and Chana whole in retail market under the brand name of Bharat Dal on 23.10.2024. The allocated Chana stock will be sold in Dal form and Whole form in the ratio of 80:20 in 1 kg pack at MRP of Rs 70/kg for Chana Dal and Rs 58/kg for Chana Whole. Bharat Chana Dal and Whole Chana are made available for retail sale to consumers and for supplies through retail outlets of NAFED, NCCF, Kendriya Bhandar. Previously, during Phase I, chana dal was sold in retail market under the brand name of Bharat Dal at subsidised rates of Rs 60 per kg for 1 kg pack and Rs 55 per kg for 30 kg pack in order to make pulses available to consumers at affordable prices.
Moong Dal: Conversion of Moong stock into Moong Dal (Dhuli) and Moong Dal (Saboot) for retail disposal under the Bharat Dal Brand has also been approved the Government. Taking into account the prevailing prices of Moong Dal in the retail market, the MRP for Bharat Moong Dal (Dhuli) is fixed at Rs107 per kg, and Bharat Moong Dal (Sabut) at Rs 93 per kg by allowing a discount of Rs 1,500/qtl on the issue price (i.e., MSP of the stock) of Moong stock. Bharat Moong Dal is made available in retail outlets of NAFED, NCCF, Kendriya Bhandar, Safal and also on e-commerce platforms.
Masur Dal: Conversion of Masur stock into Masur Dal for retail disposal under the Bharat Dal Brand has also been approved the Government. Taking into account the prevailing prices of Masur Dal in the retail market, the MRP for Bharat Masur Dal is fixed at Rs 89 per kg. Bharat Masur Dal is made available in retail outlets of NAFED, NCCF, Kendriya Bhandar Safal and also on e-commerce platforms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|