Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister flags off vans selling subsidized onions at Rs 24 per kg

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & New and Renewable Energy, Shri Pralhad Joshi launched the retail sale of onions at Rs.24 per kg by flagging off mobile vans of NCCF, NAFED and Kendriya Bhandar deployed for the sale here. The event marked the commencement of calibrated and targeted release of onions from the government buffer to make the essential vegetable available to consumers at affordable prices.

Shri Joshi said that keeping food inflation under control is a priority of Government of India, and various direct interventions through price stabilisation measures have played important role in bringing down inflation rate in recent month. The general retail inflation for July, 2025 at 1.55%, lowest in nearly eight years, is attributed to substantial decline in food inflation. The calibrated and targeted disposal of onions from the buffer is an integral part of government’s efforts to control food inflation and maintain stable price regime.

The targeted disposal of onion is being started in Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad today with retail sale through outlets and mobile vans of NCCF, NAFED and Kendriya Bhandar and also through distribution partners of NAFED and NCCF. The coverage will be widened, deepened, intensified and diversified across the country as per the trend in onion prices. The Department is monitoring the daily prices of 38 commodities, including onion, reported from 574 centres across the country. The daily price data and the comparative trends constitute key inputs for decisions on the quantum and destinations for release of onions from the buffer.

Onion production in this year is estimated at 307.71 lakh tonnes which is about 27% higher than previous year. No duty or restrictions are imposed on the export of onion and the pace of export is steady with 1.06 lakh tonnes in July and 1.09 lakh tonnes exported in August, 2025.

Considering the availability and price scenario, the government procured 3.00 lakh tonnes onion for price stabilisation buffer through NCCF and NAFED. The onions were procured from farmers/farmer’s federations in major rabi onion producing areas in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and payments for the onions have been made through direct transfer to the farmers accounts. An integrated system for monitoring of procurement, storage and disposal has been adopted in onion operation this year by deploying technology capturing activities across all the stages of operations.

In order to ensure transparency in onion procurement, genuineness of farmers and their land records have been verified through e-mahabhumi, the official portal of the Maharashtra government. Payments to farmers are made through their Adhaar seeded bank accounts. To ensure quantity and quality, regular visits are undertaken by the officers from Department of Consumer Affairs, Department of Food & Public Distribution and National Test House to verify the stock of onions in storage warehouses. Payments to farmers are made for quantities which have been moved to chawls and duly verified.

Retail disposal of onions starting from 4 September 2025 in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The number of stationary outlets and mobile vans deployed by NCCF, NAFED and Kendriya Bhandar as on 4 September.

Retail disposal of onions has been the focus for this year buffer disposal for effective management of prices across the state. NAFED, for the first time, is implementing a dedicated billing application along with their existing Track and Trace software.

The digital billing application has an easy and user-friendly interface, ensuring ease of access and operation. The application will be installed in mobile phones of operators of all mobile vans, enabling beneficiary identity verification through SMS/ Aadhaar/ photograph.

The software and billing application has following functionalities:

• Automate retail and vans sales operations

• Enable Mobile van users to generate sales bills to customers via mobile application.

• Provide SMS notifications to beneficiaries on each transaction

• Collect feedback from beneficiaries through SMS. The SMS will also communicate about dedicated customer care with a toll-free number to address all queries/ grievances/ complaints raised by beneficiaries/consumers.