The exercise to check the age of paddy/rice it procures through scientific means is being started by Andhra Pradesh from April

The exercise to check the age of paddy/rice it procures through scientific means is being started by Andhra Pradesh from April. File photo

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 11

The Centre is planning to launch an initiative to ascertain the “age” of crops being brought for procurement in ‘mandis’.

This is to check the “recycling of grains” from earlier crop years in the current season, top officials from the Department of Food and Public Distribution said on Friday.

The exercise to check the age of paddy/rice it procures through scientific means is being started by Andhra Pradesh from April.

Secretary of the Department of Food and Public Distribution Sudhanshu Pandey, while unveiling initiatives of the Centre regarding reforms in the Targeted Public Distribution, including the “One Nation One Ration Card” programme, said the Centre too is planning to initiate the process in order “to check recycling of crops” from previous years.

The government is committed to buying/procuring from the current crop season, however, often it is seen that in states like Punjab grain brought for procurement in mandis is more than the production that year.