The Vijay government in Tamil Nadu has announced subsidised sales of fine-quality rice at Rs 30 per kg after open-market prices surged to Rs 75-85 per kg.
The subsidised rice will be sold across Tamil Nadu through Amudham departmental stores and cooperative stores. (Representative image)
Chennai,Oct 16, 2026 13:52 IST
The Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced measures to control rising prices of essential commodities, including the sale of fine-quality rice at a subsidised price of Rs 30 a kg, news agency PTI reported.
The rice will be sold across the state through Amudham departmental stores and cooperative stores. The decision comes after retail rice prices in the open market rose to between Rs 75 and Rs 85 a kg.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister P Venkataramanan said the increase in prices was caused by the impact of El Nino on agriculture, regional supply shortages and global economic factors.
In the first phase, the government will distribute 25,000 metric tonnes of fine-quality raw and parboiled rice at Rs 30 a kg through 201 cooperative stores and 49 Amudham outlets. Consumers can buy up to 5 kg, depending on their requirement, from this weekend, the government said in a release.
“As our first and foremost priority, we are procuring one lakh metric tonnes of Grade A rice. About 25,000 metric tonnes have been released for immediate distribution through Amudham departmental stores and cooperative stores across the state,” Venkataramanan told reporters, according to PTI.
“We are also planning to supply toor dal to all shops from Monday at Rs 130 a kg, while rice will be sold at Rs 30 a kg. Distribution of rice will begin today or tomorrow,” he said.
The government is procuring an initial stock of 500 metric tonnes of toor dal from the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, or NAFED. It will be sold at Rs 130 a kg through 250 Amudham and cooperative outlets across the state. Onions will continue to be sold at Rs 35 a kg through cooperative networks.
The government will form a price monitoring committee based on supplies available in the market to track fluctuating prices and take steps to stabilise them. “Accordingly, we will plan for other commodities too,” Venkataramanan said.
Asked about action against the hoarding of essential commodities, the minister said, “We are working on it. We are receiving communications and information from everyone.” The government also warned that strict action would be taken against hoarding and black marketing.
About 7.01 crore beneficiaries receive essential food items through nearly 2.29 crore family cards in the state, the government said. These include Priority Household, Non-Priority Household and Antyodaya Anna Yojana cardholders.
The government said rice supplies through fair-price shops would remain uninterrupted. Stocks of sugar, palm oil and pulses have been secured for the next three months.
Traders in Tamil Nadu usually procure fine rice in bulk from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. However, lower crop yields caused by El Nino reduced rice supplies, leading to shortages in the open market and a sharp increase in prices.
The Price Monitoring Cell of the Department of Food and Consumer Protection tracks the prices of 67 essential commodities every week. It also holds quarterly review meetings chaired by the Food and Consumer Protection Minister.
The government had earlier sold more than 2,500 metric tonnes of onions at Rs 35 a kg when open-market prices reached Rs 65. It said similar measures would be taken whenever necessary.
Prices at Amudham and cooperative outlets have been fixed below open-market rates. Boiled Ponni rice will be sold at Rs 60 a kg, toor dal at Rs 130, urad dal at Rs 140, garlic at Rs 240, coriander at Rs 240 and chilli at Rs 330.
The measures are aimed at easing the burden of higher food prices on households by increasing supplies of subsidised rice, pulses and onions while monitoring prices and acting against hoarding.
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