State-run National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed), the nodal agency for supplying of 1 kg of pulses under PM Garib Kalyan Yojna, has commenced dispatching pulses to the States, a statement said on Tuesday.
Among the States and Union Territories to which the shipments commenced include Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Nafed has so far dispatched 5,516 tonnes of pulses to these States.
Under the scheme, Nafed is to supply 1,95,510 tonnes of processed pulses to cover around 19.6 crore households in the 36 States and UTs. It is supplying arhar dal, masoor malka, chana dal, chana whole and urad dal to the beneficiaries.
Except chana whole, all the dals being supplied require processing. Nafed procures whole raw pulses from the farmers at minimum support price announced by the government. Therefore, the millers are being hired by the Federation through a transparent selection process to mill and deliver the processed pulses at different delivery centres confirming to FSSAI standards.
Despite the lockdown, Nafed is hopeful of ensuring supplies for May and June on time.
Nafed has started procuring pulses and oilseeds at MSP from farmers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. It is likely to undertake procurement in Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh soon. According to the statement, Nafed will soon start purchasing vegetables and fruits from cooperatives and farmer producer organisations.