Govt to distribute subsidised pulses through postal network

New Delhi: The central government has decided to use postal network for distribution of subsidized pulses and release more Chana from buffer stock to ensure availability of these commodities at reasonable prices during ongoing festival season.

The decisions were taken by the Inter Ministerial Committee on prices of essential commodities headed by Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande here on Friday. The committee reviewed availability and prices of essential commodities specially pulses and suggested that in the absence of government outlets in the states postal networks should be used for the distribution, according o a PIB release.

It was observed that there are declining trends in the prices of pulses in recent weeks. Prices of some of the other commodities are stable. The committee also reviewed procurement arrangements of Kharif pulses by the government agencies. It was informed that so far 500 procurement centres have been opened and farmers are being paid through check or bank transfer instantly. The government has set up procurement target of 50,000 MT for current Kharif pulses.