Maharashtra to buy sugar for PDS distribution from open mkt

The Maharashtra government would be sourcing the sugar for public distribution system (PDS) from the open market.

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The government will buy sugar through e-tendering, the state cabinet decided in a meeting here. "The sugar will be sold at Rs 13.50 per kg (through PDS). People will get 660 grams of sugar per person in the festival seasons and 500 grams in the non-festival season," an official statement said.

E-tendering will facilitate a transparent purchase, it claimed. As many as 2.78 crore people in below-poverty-line and poorest of the poor categories would benefit by the decision, it added.

The decision will also benefit the families of the personnel employed in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and paramilitary forces, for whom there is a quota earmarked. Tenders would be issued district-wise, for a period of six months.