In a major decision, the Uttarakhand cabinet approved the proposal to provide pulses at low prices in the Public Distribution System (PDS) shops. As per the decision, two kilogrammes of pulses per ration card per month would be provided in the PDS shops.
The decision would benefit 23.80 lakh families in the state. Minister and government spokesman Madan Kaushik said that the state government has decided to start a ‘Mukhyamantri Dal Poshit Yojana’ to provide pulses in ration shops. He said that state government would purchase pulses from the buffer stock of the union government for the purpose.
He added that a subsidy of Rs 15 per kg would be provided by the state government. The cost of transportation of the pulse however would be added in the price. The decision of the state government is aimed at provided cheap protein rich pulses at the ration shops.
It is pertinent to mention here that under Price Support System (PSS), the union government provides different pulses at highly subsidised rates to the state governments. The type of pulse would depend on the availability of the pulses in the buffer stock. Apart from providing cheap pulses to the states to support their welfare scheme, the scheme also aims at putting a check on the market price of pulses.