Date:22/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/22/stories/2008102255130700.htm

New Delhi

TPDS foodgrains ‘rationalised,’ says Pawar

Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI: The government said here on Monday that it had “rationalised” the quota of foodgrains under the Targeted Public Distribution System in view of the declining stocks of wheat and rice in the central pool. Denying that there was a reduction in the quota of foodgrains, Food Minister Sharad Pawar told the Lok Sabha that the allocation of wheat and rice for the Above Povertyline (APL) population had been “rationalised” from June 2006, for wheat and from April 2007, for rice. The allocation was on the basis of figures of the previous three years from 2003-04 to 2005-06.

Low rice procurement

Further, due to lower procurement of rice during kharif marketing season of 2006-07 and 2007-08, the allocation of rice for 2008-09 for the APL category to States and Union Territories including Kerala and Andhra Pradesh had been done on the basis of lifting in the last two years, the Minister said.