Ram Vilas Paswan

Others who attended the hour-long meeting include Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

Arrears comprise of payments to be made on the basis of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the Centre, and State Advisory Price (SAP) determined by the states, Paswan said.

Paswan accused the Bihar government of dragging its feet on the issue of migrants while states like the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh have started bringing its people back by bus-loads.

Under the initiative, eligible beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) would be able to avail their entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop in the country using the same ration card.

Nearly a month's supply of pulses has already been dispatched to several states and union territories, but they have managed to distribute only 53,617 tonnes to ration card holders under the Public Distribution System (PDS), Paswan said and urged them to speed up the process in the interest of poor people.

On January 1 this year, 12 states were integrated among each other and now 17 states are on integrated management of the public distribution system (PDS), also called ration shops/fair price shops, Paswan added.

State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the Centre's nodal agency that is engaged in procurement of foodgrains at a minimum support price (MSP) directly from farmers and distributes the same at a subsidised rate to over 81 crore ration card holders in the country.

State-run Food Corporation of India (FCI), the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains under the Public Distribution System, is keeping a close watch on supply of subsidised grains to the ration-card holders, he added.

The government last week decided to lift nearly six-month-old ban on export of onions as prices are likely to fall sharply due to bumper rabi crop.

India, the world's biggest exporter of onion, banned exports of onions in September last year to keep domestic supplies intact after flooding in several states worsened seasonal shortages, leading to a spike in local prices.

Paswan held discussions with industry representatives on key provisions of the proposed Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) as well as rules and regulations being formed under the Consumer Protection Act.

His statement comes as the LJP starts preparations for contesting in the upcoming Bihar elections, as well as the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls.

Paswan has, however, added that the NPR exercise by far, is similar to the Census

Retail onion prices, which were ruling over Rs 100 per kg in most cities since the past two months, have started softening now on arrival of imported onions and new kharif crop.

A notification to make mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery from January 15, 2021 will be issued on January 16 by the Consumer Affairs Ministry.

Under the initiative, eligible beneficiaries would be able to avail their entitled foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) from any Fair Price Shop in the country using the same ration card.

Retail onion prices, which were ruling over Rs 100 per kg in most cities since last two months, have started softening now on arrival of imported onions and new kharif crop.

In a bid to curtail sky-rocketing prices of the bulb, the Centre had sought onion imports from countries such as Afghanistan, Egypt, and Turkey

Under the initiative, eligible beneficiaries would be able to avail their entitled foodgrain under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) from any Fair Price Shop in the country using the same ration card.

Onion prices stayed above the Rs 100 per kg mark on December 10, for the second week in a row.