LD PM 3 LST

Expressing concern over the lacklustre response of the
state governments in dealing with the price situation, the
Prime Minister said, "I regret to say ...that lifting of wheat
and rice by the state governments under the OMSS has not been
encouraging in most states."
To augment the supply of cereals, the Centre under the
Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) had released 30 lakh tonnes of
wheat and rice to the States for sale to retail consumers.
However, the response of the States to the OMSS has been
lukewarm.
Attributing high prices of food items to factors like
rising global prices and monsoon failure, Singh said, "while
we did well to protect incomes, we have been less successful
on the price front."
The government, he added, provided subsidised diesel and
seeds to farmers to deal with rain shortfall and also allowed
duty free import of food items while imposing restrictions on
their exports.
On the back of adequate food stock and good rabi (winter
crop) prospects, the Prime Minister expressed hope that food
prices would moderate.
"All this augurs well for our ability to stabilise food
prices at a reasonable level," he added. PTI