Bihar Secures Increased Paddy Procurement Target in Meeting with Union Minister

Chirag Gupta

New Delhi: In a meeting between Union Minister Pralhad Joshi of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Bihar’s Minister for Food and Consumer Protection, Leshi Singh, the target for paddy procurement in Bihar for the upcoming Kharif Marketing Season 2024-25 was raised from 34 lakh MT to 45 lakh MT. The meeting took place in Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi, and was attended by Bihar’s Secretary of the Department of Food and Consumer Protection, Dr. N. Sarwan Kumar, alongside officials from the Government of India.

During the discussions, the Union Minister responded positively to Bihar’s request for increasing the procurement target. Additionally, instructions were given to release the pending funds owed to the state under decentralized procurement schemes, a long-standing issue flagged by the Bihar government.

The Union Minister and his team praised Bihar’s leadership in transparent food grain distribution, particularly the state’s successful implementation of Aadhaar-based e-POS authentication, end-to-end computerization, and efficient use of new technology in supply chain management over the past few years. These advancements were highlighted as models for other states.

Further appreciation was given to Bihar for its work on e-KYC for ration cards, removal of duplicate data, and Aadhaar seeding, all in line with the directives of the Government of India.

The meeting concluded with assurances from the Union Minister that Bihar would receive the necessary assistance for future initiatives. Leshi Singh expressed her gratitude for the decisions made and extended an invitation to the Union Minister to visit Bihar in recognition of the state’s achievements in the food distribution sector.