Punjab gets one-time exemption, FCI to accept custom milled rice

The Centre has granted one-time exemption to Punjab for implementing the online procurement system and asked the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to accept custom

The Centre has granted one-time exemption to Punjab for implementing the online procurement system and asked the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to accept custom milled rice for the 2019-20 kharif season as a special case.

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In a release here on Tuesday, state food and civil supplies director Anindita Mitra said that at the behest of the Punjab government, the Union ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution has granted the exemption as a special case, since in comparison to previous seasons, Punjab has shown improvement in online registration of farmers besides improved online payment by commission agents (arhtiyas) through the public financial management system.

A total of 2,557 farmers were paid towards the end of the procurement season via the system, she said.

The state has assured the Union ministry that online procurement will also be implemented in the rabi marketing season 2020-21 and the state will update the status on a monthly basis.

The FCI was earlier asked to accept custom milled rice and make payments to state agencies only if payments were made online directly to the registered farmers’ accounts in the states of Punjab and Haryana. Besides, the states were asked to conduct the procurement through the online system after registering the farmers.