Hyderabad [India], November 20 : Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday suggested to Union Minister of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, to implement the state's flagship Fine Rice (Sanna Biyyam) distribution scheme across the country. The CM also requested the release of pending dues, an increase in boiled rice quota, and a higher paddy procurement target in view of the bumper crop for 2025-26.
CM Reddy, along with cabinet colleagues, met Union Minister Joshi in Hyderabad. State Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, Principal Secretary to CM Seshadri, Principal Secretary to Civil Supplies Stephen Ravindra, and senior officials also participated in the meeting.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister briefed the Union Minister about the successful implementation of the fine rice distribution scheme and its positive impact on the lives of poorer sections in Telangana. Explaining the official mechanism for distributing fine rice through ration shops, the CM said, "The fine rice supply reduced the recycling of PDS rice and also stabilised rice prices in the open market. The scheme also achieved its desired goals, mainly the distribution of nutritious, high-quality rice to the poor."
When the CM suggested that the Central Government should also look into distributing fine rice across the country, like Telangana, the Union Minister said that a decision will be taken after a thorough study.
The Chief Minister requested Joshi to increase the quota of boiled rice by an additional 10 lakh metric tonnes for the 2024-25 Rabi season. He also highlighted the pending subsidy dues of Rs. 1,468 crore for levy rice supplied under PDS and Rs. 343.27 crore under the fifth phase of PMGKY, urging the Union Minister to clear the pending dues immediately.
CM Revanth Reddy further requested that custom rice milling be extended for 2024-25, that additional boiled rice racks be allocated to overcome storage issues in FCI godowns, and that assistance be provided to increase godown storage capacity by 15 lakh metric tonnes in the state.
In view of the highest paddy yield of 148 lakh metric tonnes in the 2025-26 Kharif season, the CM appealed to the Union Minister to increase the paddy procurement target to 80 lakh metric tonnes. Responding positively, Joshi assured that the Centre will consider all the requests.
Joshi also noted, "The need for boiled rice has decreased nationwide, and cultivation of raw rice varieties suitable for milling should therefore be encouraged." He added that export opportunities should be examined to effectively manage the state's surplus paddy stocks.
Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy requested the Union Minister to increase the paddy procurement target to 80 lakh metric tonnes and added that special awareness programmes will be organised among farmers to encourage the cultivation of paddy varieties suitable for the production of raw rice.