Asked if the government will fully restore wheat supply under the PDS, Food Minister Sanjeev Chopra said on Thursday, “We will have to wait until the purchase is over. So far, 2.56 million tons of wheat have been purchased. We will get clear pictures after the procurement operation.”
In 2022, the government reduced its supply of wheat through PDS after a massive decline in procurement, replacing wheat with rice.
These reductions continue until 2023 and 2024. Partial restoration began in October 2024 with an additional 3.5 million tons allocated to March 2025.
The secretary said that as of April 30, the government had purchased 25.631 million tons of wheat, an increase of 24.78% from 205.41 billion tons in the corresponding period last year. The government set a target of 31.2 million tons in the 2025-26 Rabi marketing season. “So far, the procurement has been smooth and good. We hope to achieve the 31.2 million tonnes target,” Chopra said.
Asked about lifting the export ban on wheat, Chopra replied: “It is too early to talk about allowing wheat exports.”
Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), covering 8 billion people, each beneficiary is entitled to 5 kilograms of food per month. The wheat-Ris rate ratio in this allocation is determined based on government stocks.
As of April 30, Punjab led the procurement of 10.389 billion tons, followed by Madhya Pradesh (6.767 billion tons), Haryana (65.67 billion tons), Rajasthan (1.144 billion tons) (1.144 billion tons) and Uttar Pradesh (75.5 million tons).
The procurement drive has benefited 2.103 million farmers, with the total MSP payments of Rs 62,155.96 crore.
The secretary highlighted the initiatives taken to upgrade warehouses of Central Warehouses and Food Corporation (FCI) warehouses into smart warehouses.
Imagine warehouse DARPAN portal and mobile applications to ensure food storage warehouses meet the highest quality and performance standards.
