The Centre is believed to have decided to allow export of two million tonnes of non-basmati rice on government-to-government basis and raise allocation of foodgrain to states, which is expected to benefit over 13 crore APL families.
An empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) on food that met yesterday, had decided to allow the shipment of non-basmati rice through diplomatic channels, official sources said.
India has exported 7.44 lakh tonnes of non-basmati rice so far this fiscal to meet the requests of many African countries like Nigeria, Senegal, Cameron and Ghana.
The export is being done on government-to-government basis and STC is India's nodal agency for the task. The government banned shipment of non-basmati rice in April last year to contain price rise, but has been easing the restriction from time to time.
The decision to increase the allocation of rice and wheat will benefit 13.13 crore families covered under the Above Poverty Line (APL) category, the sources said.
A number of states including Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh have been demanding for a hike in the allocation, while the Centre was making additional allocation to 'selected' states, the sources said.
Source : The hindu