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Hindustan Times
14-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Uttar Pradesh fares better in buying fodder for stray cattle than wheat for PDS
Uttar Pradesh has procured more cattle fodder than wheat in terms of target achievement (in percentages ) this year, despite the state requiring over 70 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of wheat annually to meet its public distribution system (PDS) needs, reflecting changing rural priorities and marketing dynamics. According to official data, the state government fixed a minimum target of procuring 60 lakh MT of wheat at the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹2425 per quintal from farmers this marketing season. Despite widespread publicity and procurement drives, it managed to purchase just a little over 10 lakh MT — achieving only about 17% of its target. The government began the wheat procurement for 2025 on April 1 through 5853 purchase centres across the state. The procurement season will end officially on Sunday. Officials attribute the poor procurement to higher prices being offered in the open market. 'Farmers are increasingly preferring private buyers who offer rates above the MSP and added conveniences like timely pickup, cash payment and transport assistance,' said a senior food and civil supplies official. 'The persistent low procurement trend has been observed over the last few years, with global disruptions such as the Russia-Ukraine war also impacting grain trade flows and pricing,' he added. This shortfall is likely to force the Centre to step in and fill the deficit by diverting wheat stocks from Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in other states, which is bound to increase the transportation cost significantly. In contrast, the state has fared far better in buying bhoosa — the dry wheat chaff or straw used as fodder for bovines. The government collected over 8 lakh MT of bhoosa this year, primarily for feeding stray cattle housed in more than 7,000 gaushalas (cow shelters) across Uttar Pradesh, and this collection stands at about 90% of the target. These shelters accommodate nearly 13 lakh animals, mostly abandoned or unproductive cattle, with fodder expenses forming a substantial part of the state's animal care budget. The department of animal husbandry fixed the target of collecting around 9 lakh MT bhoosa for stray cattle through a drive between April 15 and May 31. Of it, 26,62,198.16 quintal was sought to be collected through donations while the rest 62,11,795.72 quintal was to be purchased by the government from farmers at the rate of ₹850 per quintal. The stark contrast between the two figures — 90.55% of bhoosa procured versus just 17% of wheat — underscores the growing challenge in securing foodgrains for the PDS through MSP operations, even as the state remains committed to cow protection policies. Experts warn that unless procurement becomes more farmer-friendly or MSPs are revised to match real-time market prices, states like UP will continue to struggle with meeting their foodgrain buffer needs through local sourcing. Principal secretary, food and civil supplies, Ranvir Prasad said the objective of the MSP was to ensure that no farmer had to sell his produce below the threshold price fixed by the government. 'Despite our best efforts, many farmers preferred their wheat to private players since they offered a better price to them and the government has no issue with farmers getting a better price than the MSP in the open market,' he said.
Hindustan Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Crack down on PDS anomalies in UP: Pause between transactions a must, sugar overpricing under lens
In a bid to streamline the public distribution system (PDS), the Uttar Pradesh government has introduced two important measures to tackle irregularities in ration distribution by curbing bogus transactions and exposing overcharging, shortchanging and underweighing etc. As a part of the first measure, the government has mandated a minimum one-minute pause between two consecutive transactions made by any ration dealer through the electronic Point-of-Sale (ePOS) device. 'Much like the protocol followed in ATM transactions, we have mandated the one-minute interval between the consecutive transactions by a ration dealer to prevent bogus or proxy entries which have long plagued the fair price shop network across the state,' principal secretary, food and civil supplies, Ranvir Prasad said. According to other officials, some dealers were misusing the POS system to quickly process multiple transactions—sometimes without the actual beneficiaries being present—by exploiting saved biometric data or other means. 'The idea is to ensure that every transaction is genuine and done in real time. A mandatory pause between transactions makes it difficult to carry out mass bogus entries and helps detect suspicious behaviour,' said a senior official in the food and civil supplies department. However, the more disturbing issue has surfaced through a new initiative launched to take direct feedback from the ration beneficiaries. Using a random calling system, the department has begun reaching out to people who collect rations to get their on-ground experiences. Early feedback has revealed a worrying pattern. Many ration dealers are overcharging poor families while distributing subsidised sugar to them. Households covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), a scheme meant for the poorest of the poor. Over 40 lakh AAY families across Uttar Pradesh are entitled to get three kg of sugar every three months at subsidised rates of ₹18 per kg. But the feedback has shown that several dealers are asking for more money than the official price. 'We have developed a new system under which we make random calls to beneficiaries asking them a few pointed questions like if their ration dealer behaves properly, dispenses full quantity, charges the right price etc,' Prasad said. 'Some citizens contacted randomly have complained about their being overcharged for sugar while many others complained about under-weighing ration' he added. He said action on all the complaints about shortchanging, weighing less than required, misbehaviour and overpricing would be taken. 'District officials have been directed to verify the complaints and take immediate corrective steps,' Prasad added.
Hindustan Times
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Food security: Uttar Pradesh to scrap district-wise quota, cover more eligible families
Aiming to bring parity across districts and cover more eligible families, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to abolish the existing district-wise quota of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). While the Centre has fixed a state-wise quota—with separate rural and urban coverage limits—Uttar Pradesh has been following a district-wise cap on the number of beneficiaries. This district-specific allocation often resulted in imbalances. For example, prosperous districts like Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Meerut in western U.P. received a disproportionately higher share, depriving other districts of their fair entitlement. 'We are going to eliminate the district-wise quota of beneficiaries under NFSA and the work in this regard has already begun to ensure eligible beneficiaries in comparatively poorer districts are not deprived of the benefits due to them,' principal secretary, food and civil supplies, Ranvir Prasad said, speaking to HT. The Central government has fixed the population coverage under NFSA at 64.46% in rural areas and 78.54% in cities and allocates the food grain to the state, accordingly -- 7.6 lakh MT of wheat or rice every month to cater to the need of over 3.60 crore families with over 14 crore members. Additional commissioner, food and civil supplies, Satyadev said that the work to increase the share of some needy districts has begun. 'For example, we have recently added 5,000 new beneficiaries each in Sitapur, Barabanki and Lalitpur by deleting the number from Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar,' he said. He said NFSA coverage in all the seven districts in Bundelkhand was being raised to 90% and 85% in all the deserving districts in eastern UP. 'However, the overall limit for the state will remain the same as fixed under the NFSA that is 64.465% for cities and 78.54% for villages. This limit cannot be raised at all,' he said, Officials said doing away with the district-wise cap will enable the state to redistribute entitlements more equitably, strictly adhering to eligibility norms and actual population figures. The restructuring is expected to benefit backward and underserved districts, where many eligible families were left out due to the artificial ceilings imposed by the district quota system. Meanwhile, the department of the food and civil supplies has been placed fourth in disposing of complaints received on the chief minister's IGRS (Integrated Grievance Redressal System portal) as per the report for the month of April. 'Ours has been found to be the fourth best department, after the khadi and village industries, the cooperative and excise in terms of disposal of public grievances on the IGRS portal in April,' Satyadev claimed. The department of industries and infrastructure development, the housing and urban planning, the environment and climate change and women welfare are said to be among the bottom four departments.
Hindustan Times
28-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Now, married women in UP can easily move their names from father's ration card to hubby's
LUCKNOW In a major relief to married women, the Uttar Pradesh government has simplified the transfer of their names from their parental ration card to their in-laws' ration card under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The new system aims to eliminate manual hassles and ensure that no eligible beneficiary loses entitlements due to marriage-related migration. The move, it is said, will particularly benefit rural women and reinforce the government's commitment to efficient and inclusive welfare delivery. 'After successful trial, we have started a new system under which a woman can easily get her unit (name) transferred from her parental ration card to her husband's ration card, without any inconvenience. She does not need to get her name deleted from the parent's ration card and then again run to get the name added in the in-laws' ration card,' said Ranvir Prasad, principal secretary, food and civil supplies. 'The government feels that no woman, after her marriage, should be deprived of NFSA benefit or face difficulties in avail benefits after marriage,' he added. Currently, women who get married and move to another village/city are required to apply afresh for inclusion in their new family's ration card, often facing cumbersome procedures, delays, and in many cases, the loss of food security units altogether. 'Under the existing system, a woman has to first get her name deleted from the parents' ration card after marriage, and then get her name added to her husband's ration card after producing marriage proof. This is a very cumbersome process and takes months to complete,' said Satyadev, additional commissioner (civil supplies). Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), each member of a priority household is entitled to 5 kg of highly subsidised foodgrains every month. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, this wheat/rice has been provided free of cost to eligible families. In contrast, Antyodaya households — the poorest of the poor — receive a fixed 35 kg of foodgrain per ration card every month, regardless of the number of family members. Uttar Pradesh has about 3.60 crore ration cards covering over 14 crore beneficiaries, 97% of which are registered in the names of women, under both categories. To address the issue of women having difficulties in getting their names added to the ration card of in-laws/husband, the department of food and civil supplies developed a special software that will ensure smooth and swift transfer of NFSA units from the parental family's ration card to that of the in-laws. 'The NIC has developed the unit transfer software enabling any woman to apply online to get her name transferred from her parents' ration card to that of her in-laws/husband in a smooth manner,' Satyadev explained, adding: 'The process will get completed just in two weeks from the date of filing an application online. Under the new system, self-declaration is enough without any requirement of producing any document as proof of marriage.'
Hindustan Times
25-04-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
UP to expand fortification efforts, distribute fortified wheat flour through PDS
Uttar Pradesh is set to expand its food fortification efforts by piloting the distribution of fortified wheat flour through the Public Distribution System (PDS). The announcement was made during the 19th State Connect Programme, jointly organised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Uttar Pradesh State FDA, and the Confederation of Indian Industry – Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence (CII-FACE) in Lucknow on Thursday. Ranvir Prasad, principal secretary, civil supply and consumer protection, highlighted that over 40% of the state's population is affected by anaemia. To address this, the government has already implemented rice fortification across 865 PDS outlets, 1,823 Anganwadi centres, and 102 rice mills, benefiting around 19.17 lakh people. The state's next step—piloting wheat flour fortification—is expected to further combat micronutrient deficiencies and boost nutritional security. A dedicated session on large-scale fortification brought together industry experts and organisations such as PATH, GAIN, Fortify Health, Technoserve, KHPT, and WFP. These stakeholders shared best practices and technological innovations to enhance the fortification of staples like rice, wheat, edible oil, and milk. Supported by the Gates Foundation, CII aims to use this platform to drive improved compliance and manufacturing standards. With 35% of India's wheat and sugarcane output and significant food processing infrastructure, Uttar Pradesh continues to strengthen its food safety ecosystem. The expansion of food testing labs to 18 across the state signals a focus on improved lab capacity and safety monitoring. Ranjan Kumar, principal secretary of Ayush and Food Safety & Drugs Administration, emphasized awareness campaigns and digital monitoring tools aligned with the Viksit Bharat vision. Dr SK Panda from FSSAI reinforced the importance of FBO registration on the FoSCoS portal and robust risk-based inspections. FSSAI also conducted hands-on training on digital compliance through live FoSCoS demonstrations, while sessions covered detection of milk adulterants and food contaminants, with a lab demo at CSIR-IITR enhancing practical understanding among officials.
