The government of the Indian state of Telangana is planning to build up rice stocks to cover as much as 14 months of demand, to protect about 34 million users of its public food distribution system from drought, crop failure or price rises linked to El Niño, The Hindu reports.
At a review meeting on Monday, the civil supplies minister, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, told officials to plan purchasing and storage well ahead rather than relying on the next paddy harvest, so supplies continue even if rains fail.
The state needs roughly 238,000 tonnes of rice a month for rations, school meals and other welfare schemes. Official figures show about 964,000 tonnes were held in buffer stores on 16 October, with around 1.84 million tonnes more expected from pending deliveries.
Source: The Hindu
