Govt. of India has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to ensure that the prices of the pulses remain controlled.

In a consistent effort to crackdown on prices of essential commodities like pulses, the Government of India has issued a landmark order where it has imposed stock limits on pulses applicable to wholesalers, retailers, millers and importers. The Removal of Licensing Requirements, Stock Limits and Movement Restrictions on Specified Foodstuffs (Amendment) Order, 2021 has been issued with immediate effect from today i.e. 2nd July 2021. 

Under this order, stock limits have been prescribed for all pulses except Moong until 31st October 2021 for all States/UTs. The stock limit will be 200 MT (provided there should not be more than 100 MT of one variety) for wholesalers, 5 MT for retailers and it will be the last 3 months of production or 25% of annual installed capacity, whichever is higher, for the millers. Lastly, for importers, the stock limit will be the same as that of wholesalers for stocks held/imported prior to 15th May 2021 and for stocks imported after 15th May 2021, the stock limit applicable on wholesalers will apply after 45 days from the date of customs clearance. It has also been stated that if the stocks of entities exceed the prescribed limits, they have to be declared on the online portal ( fcainfoweb.nic.in ) of the Department of Consumer Affairs and have to be brought within the prescribed limit within 30 days of the notification of this order.

As a result of a series of consistent actions taken by the Government of India, a declining trend in the prices of pulses and edible oils is being witnessed. Additionally, in the past 6 years, the highest ever total production of major pulses amounting to 255.8 LMT took place in 2020-21 with Gram (126.1 LMT) and Moong Dal (26.4 LMT) particularly breaking all of their past records of production. Since the entire country has been reeling under the impact of the pandemic, the Government has been committed to adopting timely measures and has substantially alleviated the concerns and anguish of the common man. This development has been received with widespread relief by all the sections of society.

Taking its vision for an ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ forward, the Government of India has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to ensure that the prices of essential commodities like pulses remain controlled. As a part of the Price Monitoring Scheme under which the central government assists the state/UT governments in setting up price monitoring centres, there has been a 50% increase (57 centres in 2014 to 114 centres in 2020) in the number of such price monitoring centres. Incidentally, within the first three months of 2021 itself, 22 more centres have been added. This step will ensure that the reporting of data on prices from all across the country becomes more representative.

Highlights.

• In a consistent effort to crackdown on prices of essential commodities like pulses, Govt. of India has issued a landmark order imposing stock limits on Pulses applicable to wholesalers, retailers, millers and importers
• Stock Limits and Movement Restrictions on Specified Foodstuffs (Amendment) Order, 2021 has been issued with immediate effect from today i.e. 2nd July 2021.
• Under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi, Govt. of India has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to ensure that the prices of the pulses remain controlled
• As a result of above series of consistent actions by Government of India, declining trend in the prices of pulses and oilseeds is being witnessed
• Highest ever total production of major pulses amounting to 255.8 LMT in 2020-21 with Gram (126.1 LMT) and Moong Dal (26.4 LMT) particularly breaking all of their past records of production
• Targeted size of pulses buffer to be maintained in FY 2021-22 under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) has been raised to 23 LMT
• To enable real-time monitoring of price of pulses, a web portal has been developed to keep a check on the undesirable practice of hoarding
• To soften the prices of edible oils, a mechanism has been institutionalized to monitor the speedy clearance of food commodities at ports
• Changes have been made in import policy by shifting Tur, Urad and Moong from restricted category to free category
• Average dwell time for clearances of consignments has come down to 6.9 days from 10 to 11 days in case of pulses and 3.4 days in case of edible oils
• As a part of a large-scale digitisation effort, with a commitment to improving the quality of price data, a mobile app was launched by the government on 1st January 2021 to report on prices on a daily basis from the price monitoring centres while showing an actual market location and a dashboard has been developed to generate an analysis of price trends and projections. Also, the services of a marketing agency are being utilised to assess the ground-level situation.

A mechanism for retail intervention was introduced in 2020-21 to enhance the immediate impact of released pulses from the buffer to cool down retail prices. Moong, Urad and Tur Dal were offered to the States/UTs for supply through retail outlets such as FPS, Consumer Cooperative Society outlets etc. Costs related to milling/processing, transportation, packaging & service charge of NAFED were borne by the Department itself. Additionally, during October 2020 and January 2021, 2 LMT of Tur Dal was disposed of through Open Market Sales to control the prices. Furthermore, pulses have also been supplied for welfare and nutrition programmes at MSP for Tur and at 5% discount on MSP in the case of Chana.

More recently, guided by the principle that buffer should be built through increased procurement from farmers during bumper production and released to cool down during periods of volatility, effective interventions in the form of increased procurement and increased buffer stock targets were made for price stabilisation. The targeted size of pulses buffer to be maintained in FY 2021-22 under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) has been raised to 23 LMT and chana buffer has been increased to 10 LMT. Also, under the PSF, procurement of 1 LMT of summer moong at MSP is being undertaken in Madhya Pradesh as the quantity offered by the state for procurement under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) exceeded the quantity approved for it. This move will increase the income of the farmers as they will receive remunerative prices for their products and ensure that they do not reduce their area of cultivation for that crop during the next season.

In March-April, there was a sustained increase in the price of pulses. The need for an urgent policy decision was felt to send the right signal to the market. For the first time ever, a mechanism has been adopted to declare the real-time stock of pulses all over the country, for keeping a check on the undesirable practice of hoarding, which leads in turn to artificial scarcity and price escalation. In order to enable real-time monitoring of the prices of the pulses and ensure transparency, a web portal has been developed by the government to declare the stocks held by different stockholders. States/UTs were requested by the government on 14th May 2021 to register and declare the pulses stocks of Millers, importers, dealers and stockists under the EC Act, 1955. This step has received a positive response as so far there have been 7001 registrations and stocks worth 28.31 lakh MT have been declared.

Parallelly, to enhance the domestic availability and smoothen the inflow of pulses import, changes have been made in import policy by shifting Tur, Urad and Moong from restricted category to free category for the period from 15th May 2021 to 31st October 2021. Additionally, 5-year MoUs have been signed with Myanmar for annual import of 2.5 LMT of Urad and 1 LMT of Tur, with Malawi for annual import of 1 LMT of Tur, and MoU with Mozambique for annual import of 2 LMT Tur has been extended by another 5 years. These MoUs will ensure predictability in the number of pulses being produced abroad and exported to India, thus benefiting both India and the pulse exporting country.

Moreover, to soften the prices of edible oils, a mechanism has been institutionalized involving nodal offices of the Customs department, FSSAI, Plant Quarantine division to monitor the speedy clearance of food commodities like Crude Palm Oil (CPO) at shipping ports. Also, to protect the interest of consumers, the duty of CPO has been cut by 5% from 30th June 2021 until 30th September 2021. Pertinently, this reduction is only valid until September as the government is committed to protecting the interest of its farmers as well. This reduction will bring down the effective tax rate on CPO to 30.25% from the earlier 35.75% and will, in turn, bring down the retail prices of edible Oils. Further, the duty on Refined palm oil/Palmolein has been reduced to 37.5% from 45%.

A revised import policy for Refined Bleached Deodorized (RBD) Palm Oil and RBD Palmolein has been put in place from 30th June 2021 under which they have been removed from restricted to free category. To further support streamlined and smooth processes at the ports, particularly to speed up clearances delayed due to COVID-19, Standard Operating Procedure for faster clearance of consignments of imports of pulses and edible oils have been prepared. The average dwell time for clearances of consignments has come down to 6.9 days from 10 to 11 days in the case of pulses and 3.4 days in the case of edible oils.

Despite the disruption of the supply chain and other economic consequences due to the pandemic, the government has proactively taken all possible steps to ensure easy access and an uninterrupted supply of essential commodities to all of its citizens across the nation. It will continue to work in mission mode to cater to the needs of its people and take its vision of ‘Self-reliant India’ forward by not only focusing on building its domestic capability but by aligning its policies like the National Oilseeds Mission with foreign trade.

डाळींच्या किंमती नियंत्रित ठेवता येतील यासाठी बहुआयामी धोरण.

डाळींसारख्या जीवनावश्यक वस्तूंच्या किंमती नियंत्रणात ठेवण्यासाठी सातत्याने प्रयत्नशील, डाळींच्या साठवणुकीवर  मर्यादा घालण्याचा भारत सरकारने जारी केलेला महत्वपूर्ण आदेश घाऊक,  किरकोळ विक्रेते, कारखानदार आणि आयातदार यांना लागू.

विशिष्ट  खाद्यपदार्थांवर साठवणूक  मर्यादा आणि देवाणघेवाणीवरील निर्बंध (सुधारणा ) आदेश, 2021 आजपासून म्हणजेच 2 जुलै 2021 पासून तात्काळ प्रभावाने जारी.

डाळींचे दर नियंत्रित रहावेत यासाठी माननीय पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांच्या दूरदर्शी नेतृत्वाखाली , भारत सरकारने आखले बहुआयामी धोरण.

डाळींसारख्या जीवनावश्यक वस्तूंच्या किंमतींवर नियंत्रण आणण्यासाठी भारत सरकारने एक महत्त्वाचा आदेश जारी केला आहे, डाळींच्या साठवणुकीवर मर्यादा घालण्याचा  हा आदेश घाऊक , किरकोळ विक्रेते, कारखानदार आणि आयातदारांना लागू असेल. विशिष्ट खाद्यपदार्थावरील परवान्यांची आवश्यकता काढणे , साठवणूक मर्यादा आणि देवाणघेणंणीवरील  निर्बंध (सुधारणा ) आदेश, 2021 आजपासून म्हणजेच 2 जुलै 2021 पासून तात्काळ  प्रभावाने  लागू करण्यात आला आहे.

या आदेशाअंतर्गत, मूग वगळता सर्व डाळींसाठी  31 ऑक्टोबर 2021 पर्यंत सर्व राज्ये / केंद्रशासित प्रदेशांसाठी साठवणूक  मर्यादा निश्चित केल्या आहेत.

घाऊक विक्रेत्यांसाठी साठवणूक मर्यादा 200 मेट्रिक टन (एकाच प्रकारची डाळ  100 मे.टन पेक्षा जास्त नसावी) असेल. किरकोळ विक्रेत्यांसाठी 5 मेट्रिक टन आणि  ही मर्यादा उत्पादक कारखानदारांना  शेवटचे 3 महिन्यातील  किंवा वार्षिक स्थापित क्षमतेच्या 25% असेल, ही मर्यादा कारखानदारांसाठी सर्वोच्च आहे. आयातदारांसाठी, साठवणूक  मर्यादा 15 मे 2021 पूर्वी साठवलेल्या / आयात केलेल्या साठ्यांसाठी  घाऊक विक्रेत्याप्रमाणेच असेल आणि 15 मे 2021 नंतर आयात केलेल्या साठ्यांसाठी सीमाशुल्क मंजुरीच्या तारखेपासून 45 दिवसानंतर घाऊक विक्रेत्यांना असलेली  साठवणूक मर्यादा लागू होईल. या आदेशाच्या अधिसूचनेत असेही म्हटले आहे की, जर व्यापाऱ्यांकडील साठा विहित मर्यादेपेक्षा जास्त असेल तर त्यांना  ते ग्राहक व्यवहार विभागाचे  ऑनलाइन पोर्टल (fcainfoweb.nic.in) वर घोषित करावे लागेल आणि 30  दिवसांच्या आत विहित मर्यादेमध्ये आणावा लागेल.

भारत सरकारने  सातत्याने केलेल्या कार्यवाहीच्या परिणामी डाळी आणि खाद्यतेलांच्या किंमतींमध्ये घसरण होताना दिसत आहे. याव्यतिरिक्त, मागील 6 वर्षातील सर्वाधिक उत्पादन , 2020-21 मध्ये हरभरा (126.1 लाख मेट्रिक टन ) आणि मूग डाळ (26.4 लाख मेट्रिक टन ) या  डाळींचे झाले, विशेषत: या उत्पादनाने  मागील सर्व विक्रम मोडले.

डाळींसारख्या जीवनावश्यक वस्तूंच्या किंमतींवर नियंत्रण सुनिश्चित करण्यासाठी  भारत सरकारने बहुआयामी धोरण आखले आहे.किंमत देखरेखीची केंद्रे सुरू करण्यासाठी केंद्र सरकार राज्य / केंद्रशासित प्रदेश सरकारांना मदत करण्यासाठी असलेल्या किंमत देखरेख योजनेचा एक भाग म्हणून, अशा केंद्रांच्या  संख्येत 50% वाढ झाली आहे (2014 मध्ये 57 केंद्रे होती तर  2020 मध्ये  114 ). योगायोगाने, 2021 मध्ये पहिल्या तीन महिन्यांतच आणखी 22 केंद्रांचा समावेश झाला आहे.

मोठ्या प्रमाणावरील  डिजिटायझेशन प्रयत्नांचा एक भाग म्हणून, किंमतीच्या आकडेवारीची गुणवत्ता सुधारण्याच्या वचनबद्धतेसह, 1 जानेवारी 2021 रोजी किंमत  देखरेख केंद्रांकडून, बाजारपेठेचे वास्तविक स्थान दर्शविताना किंमत देखरेख केंद्रांकडून दररोज किंमतींवर अहवाल देणे आणि किंमतीचा कल आणि अंदाज यांचे विश्लेषण तयार करण्यासाठी डॅशबोर्ड विकसित करण्यात आला आहे.

किरकोळ किंमती कमी करण्यासाठी अतिरिक्ट साठ्यातून डाळी उपलब्ध करून देण्यासाठी   त्वरित प्रभाव  वाढविण्यासाठी 2020-21मध्ये किरकोळ हस्तक्षेपाची एक यंत्रणा सुरू करण्यात आली. एफपीएस, ग्राहक सहकारी संस्था इत्यादी किरकोळ दुकानांच्या माध्यमातून  पुरवठा करण्यासाठी मूग, उडीद आणि तूर डाळ राज्य / केंद्रशासित प्रदेशांना देण्यात आली. या व्यतिरिक्त, ऑक्टोबर, 2020 आणि जानेवारी, 2021 मध्ये, 2 लाख मेट्रिक टन तूर डाळीच्या किंमतींचे नियंत्रण करण्यासाठी खुल्या बाजारातील विक्रीद्वारे या डाळीची विक्री करण्यात आली.

यंदा मार्च-एप्रिलमध्ये डाळींच्या भावात सातत्याने वाढ झाली.देशात प्रथमच देशभरातील  डाळींचा वास्तविक साठा  जाहीर करण्यासाठी एक यंत्रणा अवलंबली गेली आहे. वेगवेगळ्या भागधारकांकडे  असलेले साठे घोषित करण्यासाठी सरकारने एक वेब पोर्टल विकसित केले आहे. अत्यावश्यक वस्तू अधिनियम,1955 अंतर्गत कारखानदार , आयातदार, विक्रेते आणि साठवणूकदारांकडील डाळींचे  साठे नोंदणी आणि घोषित करण्याची विनंती राज्यांना / केंद्रशासित प्रदेशांना 14 मे 2021 रोजी करण्यात आली.आतापर्यंत 7001 नोंदी  झाल्या आहेत आणि 28.31 लाख मे.टन किंमतीचा  साठा जाहीर झाल्यामुळे या प्रयत्नांना  सकारात्मक प्रतिसाद मिळाला आहे.त्याचबरोबर देशांतर्गत उपलब्धता वाढविण्यासाठी आणि आयातीद्वारे डाळींची  आवक कमी करण्यासाठी तुर, उडीद  आणि  मूग यांना 15 मे 2021 ते 31 ऑक्टोबर 2021 या कालावधीत मर्यादित प्रवर्गातून मुक्त प्रवर्गात स्थानांतरित करून आयात धोरणात बदल करण्यात आले आहेत.

याव्यतिरिक्त, तूर आणि उडीदाच्या वार्षिक आयातीसाठी  म्यानमार आणि मलावी यांच्यासोबत  5 वर्षांच्या सामंजस्य करारांवर स्वाक्षरी करण्यात आली आहे.

खाद्य तेलांच्या किंमती कमी करण्यासाठी, मालवाहतूक  बंदरांवर कच्चे  पाम तेल (सीपीओ) सारख्या खाद्यपदार्थांच्या वेगवान  मंजुरीवर देखरेख  ठेवण्यासाठी सीमाशुल्क विभाग, एफएसएसएआय, संयंत्र अलगीकरण  विभागातील नोडल कार्यालयाचा  समावेश करून एक यंत्रणा स्थापन करण्यात आली आहे. तसेच ग्राहकांच्या हिताचे रक्षण करण्यासाठी 30 जून 2021 पासून 30 सप्टेंबर 2021 पर्यंत सीपीओचे शुल्क  5% कमी केले आहे.शुद्ध  पाम तेल / पामोलिनवरील शुल्क 45% वरून 37.5% करण्यात आले आहे.

रिफाईंड ब्लीचड डीओडॉराइझ्ड (आरबीडी) पाम तेल आणि आरबीडी पामोलिन यांचे सुधारित आयात धोरण 30 जून 2021 पासून लागू केले गेले आहे ज्या अंतर्गत त्यांना मर्यादित श्रेणीतून मुक्त श्रेणीत टाकण्यात आले आहे.