Open Market Sale Scheme : Discontinued The Sale Of Rice And Wheat
The Central Government recently discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to State governments.
- Under OMSS, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) sells surplus stocks of wheat and rice at pre-determined prices through e-auction in the open market.
- Objective to enhance the supply of food grains, especially wheat, during the lean season and thereby moderate the open market prices, specially in the deficit regions.
- The FCI conducts a weekly auction to conduct this scheme in the open market using the platform of commodity exchange NCDEX(National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited).
- The State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations are also allowed to participate in the e-auction, if they require wheat and rice outside the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme (TPDS) and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS).
- The reserve price is fixed by the government. In the tenders floated by the FCI, the bidders cannot quote less than the reserve price.
- The present form of OMSS comprises 3 schemes as under:
- Sale of wheat to bulk consumers/private traders through e-auction.
- Sale of wheat to bulk consumers/private traders through e-auction by dedicated movement.
- Sale of Raw Rice Grade ‘A’ to bulk consumers/private traders through e-auction.
