The Centre government on Friday decided to utilise the vast network of post offices across the country to sell subsidised pulses to ensure that there is no shortage of the item during the ongoing festival season.
The decision was taken during the meeting of the inter-ministerial committee on prices of essential commodities.
The committee, headed by Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande, suggested that in the absence of government outlets in the States, postal networks should be explored for the distribution of pulses, mainly, tur, urad and chana.
An official statement of the Consumer Affairs Ministry said the committee also reviewed the availability and prices of essential commodities, especially pulses, and decided to release more chana (gram) from buffer stock to ensure its availability through retail distribution at reasonable prices during the season.
Cushion from high priceNotably, the Central government has been asking the States to lift tur and urad pulses from buffer stock and sell it at subsidised prices to protect consumers from high prices.
The committee reviewed the prices of pulses, sugar and other essential commodities and observed that there are declining trends in the prices of pulses in recent weeks.
