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India Gazette
08-05-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Uttar Pradesh sets a new record, procurement of over 926,000 metric tons of wheat from 173,000 farmers
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 8 (ANI): Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the government has once again set a new record in wheat procurement. According to an official release, as of May 8, more than 926,000 metric tons of wheat have been procured from over 173,000 farmers in the state, compared to approximately 688,000 metric tons during the same period last year. The release said that this year, wheat has been procured from 173,381 farmers. A total of 446,725 farmers have registered for the Rabi marketing year 2025-26. More than Rs 2,045 crore has already been transferred directly to farmers' bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat for the 2025-26 Rabi season has been set at Rs2,425 per quintal, ensuring fair and timely compensation for farmers. Wheat procurement began on March 17 and will continue until June 15. This procurement is being carried out through 5,852 purchase centres across the state. Last week, it was stated that wheat procurement during the Rabi marketing season 2025-26 is going smoothly in the major procuring States across the country. Against an estimated target of 312 lakh tonne fixed for procurement of wheat during the 2025-26 season, 256.31 lakh tonne of wheat has already been procured so far in the central quantity of wheat procured till April 30 this year has already surpassed last year's total procurement of 205.41 lakh tonne on the same date, showing an increase of 24.78 per cent. All the five major wheat procuring states -- Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have procured more wheat this year compared to last year. A total of 21.03 lakh farmers have already been benefitted during 2025-26 season with total MSP outflow to the tune of Rs 62155.96 crores. Major contribution in the procurement came from five procuring states -- Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh with procurement of 103.89 lakh tonne, 65.67 lakh tonne, 67.57 lakh tonne, 11.44 lakh tonne and 7.55 lakh tonne, respectively. With sufficient duration of procurement period still left in 2025-26 season, country is well on course to surpass last year's figures of wheat procurement for the central pool by a substantial margin. The positive outcome in terms of quantity of wheat procurement this year has been a result of concerted efforts by Department of Food and Public Distribution, starting from preparing State specific Action Plans based on learnings from previous years which were shared with the states well in advance. 'The Actionable items like awareness generation amongst farmers; Registration of farmers; Readiness of Procurement Centres; Timely payment of MSP to farmers etc were followed up with the respective states on regular basis through review meetings so that any potential bottlenecks are addressed timely,' the agriculture ministry said. In most of the cases, payment of MSP was made to farmers within 24 to 48 taken by Department of Food and Public Distribution, also include mandating stockholding limits through the wheat stock portal, according timely approvals for relaxation FAQ Norms, field visit by officers to identified districts for accessing on the ground scenario to facilitate timely action as and when required. (ANI)
Mint
01-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Govt mandates digital reporting for sugar mills, regulates khandsari units
The government has mandated sugar mills to digitally report production and sales, ending manual submissions, and brought larger khandsari units under its regulatory umbrella, in a bid for transparency and better farmer pay, a new order said Thursday. Under the new Sugar (Control) Order, 2025, the government has brought khandsari units with a crushing capacity above 500 tonnes per day (500 TCD) under regulatory oversight for the first time. The shift to digital reporting is expected to improve transparency, enhance efficiency, reduce data leakages, and enable real-time monitoring of sugar production and movement. Bringing khandsari units under regulation will also help ensure that farmers supplying to these units receive the government-fixed Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane. Khandsari units are traditional, small-scale sugar processing units that make unrefined sugar from sugarcane using simple machinery. The central government has brought amendments to the near six-decade-old Sugar (Control) Order, 1966, to bring transparency, efficiency and accountability to the sugar ecosystem. "The objective of the Sugar (Control) Order, 2025 is a step toward building a more efficient, transparent, and accountable sugar ecosystem, fostering both domestic stability and global competitiveness," said Sanjeev Chopra, secretary, department of food and public distribution in the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution. According to the order, the mills have to share the information pertaining to production and sales in digital forms with the government. The integration of systems will enhance efficiency, provide real-time data, reduce data leakages and redundancies. The process is already going on and more than 450 sugar mills are already integrated with the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) portal. Further, GSTN (goods and services tax network) data related to sale of sugar by sugar mills are also integrated with the portal. "This revision aims to simplify and streamline the regulatory framework governing the sugar sector in line with current industry dynamics and technological advancements," Chopra said. Also, khandsari sugar makers with 500 TCD will now be regulated under the Sugar Control Order to ensure payment of fair and remunerative prices to cane farmers and help in accurate estimation of sugar production. Currently unregulated, the khandsari sugar industry has seen rising production. Nationally, there are 373 khandsari units (with total capacity of about 95,000 TCD) working in the country. Out of the total, 66 units have more than 500 TCD capacity. The total capacity of these units is about 55,200 TCD. "The amended order will be notified either today or tomorrow in the gazette," he added. The ministry has also included raw sugar in the amended control order to prevent it from being marketed under misleading names like khandsari or organic sugar. "This will help the government to regulate the diversion of sugar to ensure sufficient availability for domestic consumption," the secretary said. Indian Sugar and Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) estimates that total sugar production in the country will be 26.4 million tonnes in 2024-25, less than the 31.99 million tonnes produced in 2023-24. Notably, around 3.5 million tonnes of sugar is expected to be diverted towards ethanol production this year, against last year's diversion of 2.15 million tonnes. Despite the dip in production, ISMA affirmed the stable and sufficient availability of sugar across the country for the ongoing 2024-25 Sugar Season, dispelling any concerns about potential shortages and supply constraints. The Secretary said that purchases of wheat during the Rabi marketing season 2025-26 is going on smoothly in the major procuring states across the country. Against an estimated target of 31.2 million tonnes fixed for procurement of wheat during 2025-26 season, 25.63 million tonnes of wheat has already been procured so far. The quantity of wheat procured till 30 April this year has already surpassed last year's total procurement of 20.54 million tonnes on the same date, showing an increase of 24.78 %. Chopra said that the department of food and public distribution is now working on smart storage solutions by integrating smart warehousing technologies by creating a seamless digital monitoring ecosystem that includes CCTV surveillance and IoT (Internet of Things) sensors, monitoring key parameters such as CO₂ & Phosphine levels, fire hazards, humidity, unauthorized entry and temperature in real time, ensuring security and efficiency in food grain storage. Already, seven warehouses of the Central Warehousing Corporation have been made smart. The government intends to convert 226 warehouse into smart warehouses by November this year. Further, a total of around 2,278 warehouses, including those owned by Food Corp. of India and Central Warehousing Corporation, and those hired from state agencies and private operators will be onboarded in this digital initiative. First Published: 1 May 2025, 09:46 PM IST
Hans India
01-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Centre pays Rs 62,156 crore to 21 lakh farmers for wheat at MSP in current season
New Delhi: Procurement of wheat during the ongoing rabi marketing season is going on smoothly in the major procuring states across the country with over Rs 256.3 lakh metric tonnes of the crop already procured at the minimum support price (MSP) so far, for which Rs 62,155.96 crores has been paid to 21.03 lakh farmers, according to an official statement issued on Thursday. The quantity of wheat procured till April 30 this year has already surpassed last year's total procurement of 205.41 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) on the same date, showing an increase of 24.78 per cent. All the 5 major wheat procuring states of Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have procured more wheat this year compared to last year, the statement said. Figures for the contribution from each state show that Punjab with 103.89 LMT was the highest, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 67.57 LMT and Haryana was a close third with 65.67 LMT. Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh were next with 11.44 LMT and 7.55 LMT, respectively. The overall target for this year's procurement has been fixed at 312 LMT. With sufficient duration of procurement period still left in the current rabi marketing season, the country is well on course to surpass last year's figures of wheat procurement for the central pool by a substantial margin, the official statement said. The positive outcome in terms of quantity of wheat procurement this year has been a result of concerted efforts by the Department of Food and Public Distribution, starting from preparing state-specific Action Plans based on learnings from previous years, which were shared with the states well in advance. The actionable items like awareness generation amongst farmers, registration of farmers, readiness of procurement centres, timely payment of MSP to farmers, etc, were followed up with the respective states on a regular basis through review meetings so that any potential bottlenecks are addressed in a timely manner. In most cases, payment of MSP was made to farmers within 24 to 48 hours, the statement said. Measures taken by the Department of Food and Public Distribution, also include mandating stockholding limits through the wheat stock portal, according timely approvals for relaxation in FAQ norms, field visits by officers to identified districts for assessing the ground scenario to facilitate timely action as and when required, the statement added.
Hans India
01-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Centre to launch Depot Darpan portal on May 20 to ensure food storage quality
New Delhi: The government said on Thursday it will launch the Depot Darpan portal and mobile application on May 20, with an objective to ensure that the food storage depots meet the highest quality and performance standards. The move will enable depot managers to evaluate infrastructure, operational and financial performance on a near real-time basis, said the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD). A total of around 2,278 warehouses including those owned by FCI and CWC and those hired from state agencies/private will be onboarded in this digital initiative. Depot Darpan portal and mobile application will be formally inaugurated by Union Minister of Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, on May 20. According to the government, in this initiative, depot managers upload geo-tagged inputs of the infrastructure available in their depot, generating automated ratings and action points for timely improvements. The system ensures 100 per cent validation by the supervisory officers and random third-party audits. The warehouses are assessed based on two main categories: infrastructural aspects which include safety standards, storage conditions, environmental, technology adoption and statutory parameters and operational efficiency aspects which include stock turnover, losses, space utilization, manpower expenses, and profitability. Each category is evaluated independently, and the warehouse receives a Star rating based on the composite scoring from both parameters. Depot Darpan is uniquely integrated with smart warehousing technologies, creating a seamless digital monitoring ecosystem that includes: CCTV Surveillance and IoT sensors, monitoring key parameters such as Carbon dioxide and Phosphine levels, fire hazards, humidity, unauthorised entry and temperature in real time thereby, ensuring security and efficiency in food grain storage. According to the Department, the IoT-enabled monitoring includes ambient sensor, carbon dioxide, phosphine gas sensor, gate shutter sensor and fire/smoke sensor. In addition, AI based technology for bag counting, ANPR (Automatic Number plate Recognition) for vehicle identification and tracking, and face recognition technology (FRS) for access control and security are also deployed in warehouses on pilot basis. Depot Darpan mobile app allows supervisory officials to track warehouse performance anytime, anywhere, supporting better decision making. Automated reports are used in regular reviews, leading to continuous and seamless improvements in infrastructure and efficiency.
