Govt to launch Bharat rice at Rs 29/kg today

New Delhi: The government will on Tuesday launch ‘Bharat rice’ at a subsidised rate of Rs 29 per kg to provide relief amid a 15 per cent rise in retail prices of the grain in the last one year.

The subsidised rice will be available in 5 kg and 10 kg packs. Food Minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to launch Bharat rice at Kartavya path in the national capital, an official release said.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) will provide 5 lakh tonne of rice to two cooperatives the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) as well as retail chain Kendriya Bhandar in the first phase.

These agencies will further pack the rice in 5 kg and 10 kg and retail through their outlets under the “Bharat” brand. The rice will also be sold through e-commerce platforms.

The government has resorted to retail sale of FCI rice after it received a lukewarm response for sale of rice to bulk users at the same rate through the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS).