Mon Oct 21 07:18:21 UTC 2024: Key points from the news article:
1. **Introduction of ‘Kanda Express’:** A special train named ‘Kanda Express’ has been launched to transport 1,600 tonnes of onions from Nashik to Delhi, aimed at controlling rising onion prices during the festive season.
2. **Current Onion Prices:** Onions are currently priced between ₹60-70 per kg in Delhi markets. The initiative seeks to stabilize these prices before Diwali.
3. **Transportation Efficiency:** The 42 wagons in the train can carry as much as 53 truckloads, costing ₹70 lakh for rail transport compared to ₹84 lakh for road transport, resulting in cost savings.
4. **Future Plans:** Similar transportation arrangements are planned for other cities like Lucknow and Varanasi, and northeast states to address high onion prices there.
5. **Government Initiatives:** The government will sell onions directly to consumers at ₹35/kg and continues to engage with e-commerce platforms for direct selling. Retail sales of tomatoes at ₹65/kg will also continue until prices stabilize.
6. **Buffer Stock Sales:** The government has been offloading onions from a buffer stock since early September through various channels, including mobile vans, and plans to increase mobile vans from 600 to 1,000.
7. **Current Buffer Inventory:** The average purchase price paid to farmers for the current buffer stock (4.7 lakh tonnes) is ₹28/kg, with no subsidies applied to current onion sales.
8. **Distribution Efforts:** A total of 91,960 tonnes have been allocated to cooperatives and other distribution agencies for further support to manage onion supply across several states.
First Piper 