Govt buys 291 lakh tonnes of paddy for Rs 57,032 crore so far in 2021-22 kharif marketing year

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The government has procured paddy worth Rs 57,032 crore so far in the 2021-22 kharif marketing season. "The paddy procurement is progressing smoothly in Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2021-22 at MSP from farmers, as was done in previous years," an official statement said.

A quantity of 290.98 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured in KMS 2021-22 till November 30. "Till now about 18.17 lakh farmers have been benefitted with MSP value of Rs 57,032.03 crore," the statement said.

Kharif marketing season runs from October to September. In Uttar Pradesh, about 14.72 crore National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries are covered under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY).

In Uttar Pradesh, about 14.72 crore National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries are covered under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY). Separately, the government said that under the PM-GKAY scheme, the food ministry had allocated a total of almost 139.14 lakh tonnes of foodgrains to Uttar Pradesh, incurring an estimated total subsidy of Rs 43,335 crores.

In the wake of economic disruptions caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, the government in March 2020 had announced the distribution of free-of-cost foodgrains to about 80 crore National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries at the scale of five kilogram per person per month under PM-GKAY.

This was over and above the regular monthly entitlements of foodgrains to ration card holders.