IANS | 13 Apr, 2024
As part of its stepped-up vigil to bring down prices of pulses, the
Government has warned traders that anyone found indulging in forward
trade of pulses would be dealt with firmly in accordance with the
provisions of the Essential Commodities Act.
The message has been
clearly conveyed to all traders during a series of interactions held by
Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Nidhi Khare with
representatives of the pulses industry in the run-up to the
operationalisation of online stock monitoring from April 15, 2024,
according to an official statement issued on Saturday.
At the same
time, the Government is also arranging for more imports of pulses from
Myanmar to bring down prices in the domestic market through increased
availability.
The government has been taking various steps to
control food inflation which is reflected in the CPI inflation coming
down to a 9-month low of 4.85 per cent in March. However, while the rise
in the prices of pulses has slowed, it is still in double-digit figures
at 17.7 per cent.
Department of Consumer Affairs has obtained
feedback from the industry and inputs from market intelligence relating
to pulses and the stock position with various market players have been
collated for further verification.
Nidhi Khare also discussed with
the Indian Mission in Yangon on issues relating to pulses imports from
Myanmar such as import prices in the wake of revised exchange rates and
stocks held by importers in Myanmar. The Indian Mission apprised that
the Rupee Kyat Settlement Mechanism has been operationalised from
January 25, 2024, to simplify trade transactions and to make them more
efficient.
The Central Bank of Myanmar released guidelines for
payment procedures under the Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA) on
January 26, 2024. The new mechanism will apply for both sea and border
trade and for trade in goods as well as services. Adoption of the
mechanism by traders will reduce costs associated with currency
conversions and eliminate complexities related to exchange rates by
eliminating the need for multiple currency conversations.
Dissemination
about the operationalisation of this mechanism among trading
communities, especially importers of pulses, is being separately done
wherein they are being requested to utilise the Rupee/Kyat direct
payment system using SRVA through the Punjab National Bank, the
statement said.
The importers and other industry players like
millers, stockists, retailers etc have been asked to honestly declare
their stock of pulses, including imported Yellow Peas, on a weekly basis
on the portal https://fcainfoweb.nic.in/psp/ from April 15.
The
States and UTs have also been asked to enforce weekly stock disclosure
by all stockholding entities and verify the stocks declared by them.
Stocks in warehouses located in major ports and in pulses industry hubs
should be verified from time to time and strict action should be taken
on stockholding entities found to be reporting false information on the
stock disclosure portal.