Procurement of rabi paddy from April 1

Guntur : The Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd decided to commence the purchase of rabi season paddy from April 1 in a board meeting held in Vijayawada on Friday. The government plans to provide essential training to Rythu Seva Kendra employees for the upcoming kharif season paddy procurement.

The meeting, chaired by minister for civil supplies Nadendla Manohar, confirmed that all necessary arrangements have been made for the rabi paddy purchase. Regarding the kharif season, the minister reported that the Civil Supplies Corporation has procured 35,48,724 metric tonnes of paddy from 5,61,216 farmers, with Rs 8,138 crore already credited to their bank accounts.

Manohar encouraged Deepam-II Scheme beneficiaries to book their first subsidised gas cylinder before the March 31 deadline, noting that 98 lakh individuals have benefited from the scheme so far.

Starting from the next financial year on April 1, beneficiaries will be entitled to three subsidised gas cylinders annually, distributed at a rate of one every four months. The subsidy amount will be credited to their bank accounts within 48 hours.

The meeting also resolved to install Artificial Intelligence cameras at private godowns for enhanced stock monitoring and to equip godown rooftops with solar panels for solar energy generation.

Concerning the midday meal scheme, the minister stated that the government is providing 1.14 lakh metric tonne rice to support the programme.

The meeting was attended by Civil Supplies Corporation chairman Thota Sudhir, managing director Saurabh Gaur, and board members Bodapati Sridhar, K Eswari, and Padmaja, among others.