The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) have jointly started selling Bharat rice through vans at Rs. 29 per kg in Tamil Nadu. They are offering 5 kg and 10 kg packs to consumers. A total of 22,000 metric tons (MT) of rice have been allocated for Tamil Nadu, with 10,000 MT to be sold by the NCCF. Two vans have been stationed for this purpose, one near the NCCF office at Thousand Light and another in Anna Nagar, with a purchase limit of two to three bags per person.
In addition to rice, the agency has been selling "Bharat atta" at Rs. 27.5 per kg and "Bharat Chana dal" at Rs. 60 per kg, planning to extend coverage to 25 to 26 districts in the state. The rice, sourced from central warehouses owned by the Food Corporation of India, is processed and packaged by NCCF.
Tamil Nadu operates a universal public distribution system, offering free rice at 5 kg per person (up to 25 kgs for a family of five) and 35 kgs for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cardholders. The total number of ration cardholders eligible for free rice is 2.1 crore. For the Public Distribution System (PDS), Tamil Nadu requires 3.5 lakh MT of rice monthly, receiving 1.94 lakh MT from the Centre for Priority Households (PHH) and AAY cardholders under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) for free. Additionally, 84,000 MT is acquired through a tide-over allocation at Rs. 8.33 per kg, and 60,000 MT is purchased from the Union government through the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) at Rs. 35.5 per kg for non-priority cardholders and nutritional programs. About 70 to 75% of cardholders purchase rice per month, with no reported short supply of ration rice.
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