Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan stated here on Tuesday that the Government is willing to supply essential foodgrains to cyclone Hudhud-struck regions of Andhra Pradesh. The statement came on the same day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced interim assistance of Rs 1000 crore to the state.

“We will provide any kind of support that is required in the areas hit by the cyclone. If the State Government requests for foodgrains then we will supply it since there is sufficient stock,” said Paswan on the sidelines of an event hosted by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for ‘World Standards Day’.

The cyclone has caused widespread damage in the coastal areas of the state including the key port city of Visakhapatnam. Media reports indicated that the death toll in AP and Odisha had risen to 24 by Tuesday evening while the AP government estimated that about 2.5 lakh people across 320 villages in Visakhapatnam, Srikakulum, East Godavari and Vizianagram districts had been adversely affected.

Prices of essential food products have skyrocketed in Hudhud’s aftermath with reports indicating prices of onions and tomatoes having doubled while milk was selling at nearly Rs. 80/litre. The Minister stated that the Government would take “all possible action” against hoarders.

Government data shows that the Government had 47.68 million tonnes (mt) of rice and wheat in its central pool as of October 1, higher than the buffer stock norm of 16.20 mt.

Expansion of BIS role

Consumer Affairs Secretary, Keshav Desiraju spoke of the need to expand the standards body’s ambit and that proposed changes to the BIS Act (1986) was a step in that direction. “These amendments are necessary to facilitate a larger number of products having mandatory standards certification. We are also trying to see if the self-certification method can be used,” he said.

Desiraju added that the point of creating standards was to enhance consumer welfare and an expansion of BIS operations would benefit not just manufacturing but domestic industry as a whole. 

“The BIS must also play an important role to make sure that Indian standards are harmonized with international ones. We have to develop our own independent standards, such as for food products, where there must be closer cooperation with the FSSAI,” he suggested.

Sunil Soni, Director General, BIS, stated that an awareness campaign is slated to be launched on October 16 to raise consumer awareness about genuine hallmarked gold and silver. 

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