16 DEC, Delhi: The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ms. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today shared that the estimates for procurement of Paddy (in terms rice) and wheat are finalized by Government of India in consultation with State Governments and Food Corporation of India, before the commencement of each marketing season based upon estimated production, marketable surplus and agricultural crop pattern.Govt. of India has fixed an estimate of 444.00 LMT wheat and 521.00 LMT paddy (in terms of rice) for Central Pool for current year Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2022-23 and Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2022-23 respectively.Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare implements Price Support Scheme (PSS) under the umbrella scheme of “Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan” (PM-AASHA) for procurement of gram directly from pre-registered farmers conforming to the prescribed Fair Average Quality (FAQ) norms by Central Nodal Agencies through the State level agencies at Minimum Support Price (MSP) announced by the Govt. as and when prices fall below the MSP during the harvesting period.Govt. of India has granted approval for procurement of maximum 33.35 LMT Gram to procuring agencies (NAFED, SFAC, FCI and NCCF) under Price Support Scheme (PSS) for Rabi 2021-22 seasons.
