Ram Vilas Paswan

The availability of point of sale (PoS) machines for cash transaction will improve in the coming days, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.

Moreover, the government has decided to put a pre-condition in all contract works for making further payments to labourers in cheque or through online transfer.

Before the proceedings began, Modi entered the House and first met leaders of BJP and its allies present in the House, including L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Ram Vilas Paswan and Ashok Gajapati Raju.

Sugar production in India, the world's second largest producer after Brazil, is estimated to decline by 10.27 per cent to 22.52 million tonnes in ongoing season, but stock availability will be sufficient to meet the domestic demand, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.

Of the 3.4 million tonnes of wheat the government has offered to private millers and biscuit makers for this fiscal year ending next March, 2.9 million tonnes have been lifted.

Under the law, which was passed by Parliament in 2013, the government provides 5 kg of highly subsidised foodgrains per person, per month at Rs 1-3 per kg.

Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the government will soon start selling pulses through post offices.

The New Bureau of Indian Standards Act has been enacted for the purpose and the rules were being framed, said the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution while addressing the Regional Editors' Conference organised by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

There is a need that we give nutritional food to people," Paswan said, adding that the fortification is most cost effective way to add micro nutrients in food.

A group of ministers, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, will soon meet to finalise the amendments to the new Consumer Protection Bill, 2015, based on the recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, he added.

"Charging above MRP is violation of the law. But we still see at airports, multiplex and hotels, that packaged water is sold at more than the MRP. This needs to be stopped," Paswan said here.

Paswan assured BJP MLA from Kalka, Latika Sharma, he would take up the matter with Minister of Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal for the setting up of a tomato ketchup manufacturing plant in the constituency, an official release said here today.

The minister hoped that the hike of up to Rs 425 per quintal in the minimum support price (MSP) of pulses will bring down the gap between production and supply in a big way.

Paswan was however non-committal on a Parliamentary panel recommendation for jail term to celebrities found guilty.

There is not much increase in the sugar rates this time and even pulses prices are showing a declining trend with arrival of new kharif crop, he said and added that edible oils prices are also stable in retail markets.

The Centre today said the proposed new Consumer Protection Bill will be introduced in the coming Winter Session of Parliament for its passage to replace the existing 30-year-old law.

"The Union Cabinet has approved extension of stock limit on pulses, oil seeds and oils for a further period of one year up to September 30, 2017," Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told PTI after the meeting.

Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan held a meeting with pulses importers to review the status of imports. Senior officials of Agriculture, Food, Consumer Affairs, Commerce, Finance and External Affairs Ministries, and investigating agencies like ED were present.

Singling out hoarders and blackmarketeers for the sharp rise in retail prices of pulses, he felt that the states did not take stringent action against them.

The state government also urged the Centre to provide relief to the farmers of which 50 percent share should be borne by the Centre. After the meeting Gadkari said the Centre will look into the demands made by the Maharashtra government.