Speaking to the media on this occasion, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said that every year the government tries to ensure that if onion prices increase, onion is made available to consumers at concessional rates through retail intervention.
He said that there is neither shortage of onion production nor availability in the country. He said that the level of exports this year is almost the same as last year. He said that the government intervenes from time to time to control market prices and provide relief to consumers.
Meanwhile, Deepak Aggarwal, Managing Director of NAFED i.e. National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited, while talking to news agency IANS, said that sale of onion through mobile vans has been started at 40 places in Delhi. Apart from this, onion will also be made available through NAFED and NCCF stores, e-commerce platforms and organized retail chains.
He further said that talks are going on with the Delhi government to make onions available at the rate of Rs 35 per kg through Public Distribution System (PDS) shops. If this scheme is implemented then a large number of consumers will be able to benefit from it.
At the same time, NCCF Managing Director Annis Joseph Chandra told IANS that as soon as the campaign started from Krishi Bhawan, the sale of onions has also been started at the retail sales centers of the organization.
He said that consumers can buy onions at the rate of Rs 35 per kg at NCCF shops, especially the sales centers located near metro stations. He said that this network will be further expanded in the coming days so that affordable onions can be delivered to more and more people.