Govt to sell additional 5 million tonnes of wheat, 2.5 million tonnes of rice in open market to contain price rise

The Indian government has announced its decision to sell additional 5 million tonnes of wheat and 2.5 million tonnes of rice from the central pool in the open market to contain the rise in prices of the food grains."There has been a sharp increase in prices of wheat and rice recently... The government has decided to offload 50 lakh tonnes wheat and 25 lakh tonnes wheat under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS)," Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra told the media on Wednesday.Chopra further informed that the recent decision to sell the food grains in open market is over and above the 15 lakh tonnes of wheat and 5 lakh tonnes of rice sale under the OMSS announced a few months ago.Chopra also said that the reserve price of rice was being brought down by Rs 2 to Rs 29 per kg."We hope these measures will bring down food inflation," the food secretary said.He further said till now, about 7 lakh tonnes of wheat has been sold through e-auction under the OMSS, while sale of rice has been negligible.The decision of the government comes amid a sharp increase in prices of cereals following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Though India has been taking measures to check the rise in prices of key food items, cereal prices have continued to rise as output has taken a hit due to unseasonal and uneven rainfall.With inputs from agencies