Parliament Question: Price volatility of essentials in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3570 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.03.2026 PRICE VOLATILITY OF ESSENTIALS IN TAMIL NADU 3570. SHRI ANTHIYUR P. SELVARASU Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has assessed price volatility of essentials in Erode district, Tamil Nadu, including Erode city and Perundurai; (b) if so, the details of Government price monitoring, enforcement against hoarding, market inspections and supply augmentation actions in Erode district; and (c) the steps proposed to be taken by Government to stabilise prices and strengthen consumer grievance support in the said district? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE, CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L. VERMA) (a) : Department of Consumer Affairs monitors the daily prices of 40 essential food commodities submitted by the 578 price monitoring centres across the country including Erode district, Tamil Nadu. As per the data, prices of food commodities are stable and under control. (b) : The daily report of prices and indicative price trends are duly analysed for taking appropriate decisions such as release of stocks from the buffer, 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 exports of the commodity etc. In order to monitor the stock of pulses, the Department of Consumer Affairs directed stock holding entities, namely, traders, millers, importers, and organised retail chains to disclose their stock holding of pulses on the stock disclosure portal, https://fcainfoweb.nic.in/psp/ on weekly basis. A total of 49 entities have registered under Erode District in the portal. Further, action taken by State Governments and UT Administrations against hoarders and black-marketeers are being continuously monitored through the online ATR portal, i.e. https://fcainfoweb.nic.in/ecre. The actions taken by the authorities of Erode under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the Prevention of Black- marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980 during the years 2025 and 2026 are as below: Year No. of Raids Arrested Prosecuted Convicted Value of Goods Conducted Confiscated (Rs. In Lakhs) 2025 748 388 297 28 907847 2026 92 65 61 11 112672(c) : Government keeps a close watch on the production and availability of essential commodities through regular reviews by the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC). The Committee reviews, on regular basis, the scenario and the indicative trends in prices of essential agri-horticultural commodities and suggests measures to enhance availability through increased domestic production and rationalisation in export-import policies. The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs has emerged as a single point of access to consumers across the country for their grievance redressal at a pre-litigation stage. Consumers can register their grievances from all over the country through a toll-free number 1915. These grievances can be registered on Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM), an omni-channel IT enabled central portal, through various channels- WhatsApp (8800001915), SMS (8800001915), email (nch-ca@gov.in), the NCH app, the web portal (consumerhelpline.gov.in) and the Umang app, as per their convenience. The number of grievances received on NCH from the State of Tamil Nadu including Erode city and Perundurai during last year i.e. 2025 is as follows: Year State Docket Received Tamil Nadu 2025 (including Erode District) 90,025 National Consumer Helpline has put in place mechanism to address all the grievances received on the Helpline portal. ****