No running away from heat
On the day of the incident, the closest Met stations recorded a maximum temperature of 34–38 °C, along with a relatively high humidity (45 per cent), exacerbating the impact of the heat.
The Government of India has made it mandatory to declare the stock position of wheat on government portal from April 1, and then, on every Friday till further orders.
Traders/Wholesalers, Retailers, Big Chain Retailers and Processors in all States and Union Territories have to declare their Stock position of wheat on the portal (https://evegoils.nic.in/wheat/login.html), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said.
It said that the move has been taken in order to manage the overall food security and to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation.
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All the respective legal entities to ensure that stock is regularly and correctly disclosed on the portal.
Further, Wheat Stock Limit is expiring on March 31 this year for all categories of entities in States and UTs. Thereafter, the entities have to disclose the wheat stock on the portal, the ministry said in a statement.
It highlighted that the rice stock declaration by all categories of entities is already in-place.
Any entity which is not registered on the Portal, may register themselves and start disclosing the wheat and rice stock on every Friday.
Now, all legal entities have to declare their wheat and rice stock on the portal regularly.
The Ministry said that the Department of Food and Public Distribution is maintaining a close watch over the stock position of wheat and rice to control prices and ensure easy availability in the country.
According to recent reports, the wheat stocks in the central pool fell to a 16-year low of 7.73 million tonne (MT) due to low procurement for the last two years, and aggressive sale of grains in the open market by Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Earlier this month, the government had stopped the open market sale of wheat. It was carried out since June last year through weekly e-auction with a record ever sales of 9.4 MT to bulk buyers aimed at reducing the retail prices.
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