Parliament Question: Food inflation and supply chain constraints

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 367 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.02.2026 FOOD INFLATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN CONSTRAINTS 367. SHRI G.C. CHANDRASHEKHAR: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has analysed drivers of persistent food inflation, including production shocks, storage capacity and market concentration; and (b) the data-backed measures proposed to stabilise prices while protecting farmer incomes? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE, CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B. L. VERMA) (a) & (b) : The prices of food commodities tend to be volatile as they are affected by several factors such as seasonality in production, supply chain disruptions, rise in international prices etc. Department of Consumer Affairs monitors the daily prices of 40 essential food commodities submitted by the 577 price monitoring centres across the country. The daily report of prices and indicative trends are duly analysed for taking appropriate decisions such as release of stocks from the buffer, targeted retail interventions, stock disclosure by stockholding entities, imposition of stock limits, changes in trade policy instruments like rationalisation of import duty, changes in import quota, restrictions on export of the commodity etc. An analytical dashboard has been developed for analysis of mandi and retail price trends, trade flows and predictive insights for planning buffer interventions and policy recommendations. Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) and Price Support Scheme (PSS) have been integrated under the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) to achieve convergence between the two schemes for supporting the farmers and protecting the consumers. Under the convergence framework, all procurement, including the procurement of pulses for buffer, at Minimum Support Price (MSP) are done under the PSS and procurement at market prices for buffer are done under PSF. *****