The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that the Government monitors the wholesale and retail prices of 22 essential food commodities on daily basis from the 179 price monitoring centres set up by the State Governments/UT Administrations. The daily prices and price trends are analysed on real-time basis for requisite policy interventions.

Various measures are taken from time to time by Government to augment domestic availability and stabilize prices of essential food commodities. These steps, inter-alia, include releases from the buffer to cool down prices, imposition of stock limits, monitoring of stocks declared by entities to prevent hoarding, and changes in trade policy instruments like import duty, import quota, minimum export price and export restrictions.

To incentivise farmers for increasing production, the Government promulgates appropriate Minimum Support Prices and also implements schemes such as Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Operation Greens etc. with the objective of increasing agricultural production and productivity, and boosting agri-infrastructure.

*****

DJN/NS