Centre doubles rice sale target to 50 LMT, makes weekly stock disclosure mandatory
Babushahi Bureau/PIB
New Delhi, November 6, 2026: The Central Government has doubled its target for rice sales through e-auctions under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) [OMSS (D)] for 2026-27 from 25 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) to 50 LMT, as part of a series of measures to ensure adequate supplies and maintain price stability.
The government has also made weekly stock disclosure mandatory for all traders, wholesalers, retailers, big chain retailers and processors/millers dealing in rice and paddy across the country. The entities will be required to update their stock positions every Friday on the Food Stock Portal.
According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the measures are aimed at preventing hoarding, ensuring adequate domestic availability and protecting consumer interests amid monitoring of food grain prices.
Under an order issued on November 6, all stocking entities must declare their holdings under six categories: Basmati Rice, Non-Basmati Premium Rice, Non-Basmati Rice, Parboiled Rice, Broken Rice and Paddy.
Entities failing to register on the portal or violating prescribed stock limits will face appropriate punitive action under Sections 6 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
In another measure, the Centre has conveyed its concurrence to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana to impose stock limits on rice and paddy wherever considered necessary. The restrictions will remain in force until January 31, 2027, through appropriate state-level control orders.
The Centre and state governments will monitor the implementation to ensure market availability and prevent hoarding and black marketing.
The government has also decided to allocate additional quantities of Bharat Rice to the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and Kendriya Bhandar to expand its availability across the country, particularly in southern states.
The agencies have been directed to explore additional distribution channels to improve consumer access to affordable rice and help moderate retail prices.
Meanwhile, the government said that 25 LMT of rice had already been sold to private parties through OMSS (D) e-auctions up to October 31, 2026. This compares with 11 LMT sold during the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
The measures reaffirm the government’s efforts to maintain adequate supplies of essential food commodities, curb hoarding and ensure price stability in the domestic market.