Lok Sabha Question No. 5423 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Bharat Rice, Bharat Atta and Bharat Dal
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Anto Antony

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5423

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25T tl MARCH,  2026

## BHARAT RICE, BHARAT ATTA AND BHARAT DAL

## 5423. SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

Will  the Minister of  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND  PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

- (a): the details of the quantity ofBharat  Rice, Bharat Atta and Bharat Dal allocated and sold since their launch, State-wise;
- (b): whether the Government  has detected any cases of diversion, hoarding or illegal sale of subsidised commodities under the Bharat brand schemes and if so, the details of quantity of Bharat Rice, Bharat Atta  and Bharat Dal seized or caught in such scams, commodity-wise;
- (c): whether the Government  has received any complaints or representations from the State Governments,  agencies or the public  regarding scams or diversion in the sale of Bharat Rice and if so, the details thereof and the action  taken by the Government thereon; and
- (d): whether any monitoring or tracking mechanism has been put in place to prevent diversion or misuse of commodities under the Bharat brand schemes and if  so, the details thereoP

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF STATE FOR MINISTRY  OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

- (a): Bharat Atta  and Bharat Rice is sold to general public  by central cooperative organizations namely NAFED,  NCCF  and Kendriya  Bhandar. Wheat and rice  allocated to  these three central cooperative organizations for  sale as Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice across the country through their own stores/ mobile  vans and / or E-commerce/ big chain retailers.  Besides, 10000 MT  of wheat was also allocated to The Maharashtra State Co-Operative  Marketing  Federation Ltd.  (MSCMFL) during phase-I for  sale as Bharat Atta.  Bharat Dal was launched in July 2023 to make daIs available to consumers at affordable  prices.

The details of the quantity ofBharat Rice, Bharat Atta  and Bharat Dal allocated and sold since their  launch is at Annexure-l.

- (b): As per the undertaking submitted  by Central Cooperative Organizations, entire quantity of wheat lifted  for  Bharat Atta  has been successfully distributed.  With  respect to Bharat Rice, 794.5 MT of rice remains undistributed in Chennai, Mumbai and Indore branches. Further, these organizations have been asked to deposit the differential  amount of the economic cost of undistributed rice and issue price, to FCI.
- (c): A letter dated 29.02.2024 alleging diversion of rice allocated for Bharat Rice into open market was received. Matter got examined based on comments from three organizations  i.e. NCCF,  NAFED and Kendriya  Bhandar and Investigation  Report ofFCI  and the allegations could not be substantiated. Further, complaints regarding diversion  of wheat and rice by Kendriya  Bhandar were received. These complaints were examined by Department of Personnel and Training  based on the inputs received from Kendriya Bhandar and were forwarded  to the Vigilance Wing, headed by the Chief Vigilance Officer of  Kendriya Bhandar  for necessary action. Kendriya Bhandar  has informed  that multiple layers of audit viz.  statutory audit, concurrent audit and internal audit conducted by various agencies have not found any kind of irregularity  in the implementation of the schemes by Kendriya Bhandar. Further,  complaints  and representations received  from the public are dealt with  appropriately  in accordance with  the nature of the queries and the extant guidelines.
- (d) To  prevent  diversion or  misuse  of  commodities under  the  Bharat  brand  schemes, Standard Operating Procedure has been issued. Further, as the internal logistics  and process improvements of central cooperative organizations fall  within the purview of the respective administrative Ministries/ Departments- Ministry  of  Agriculture for NAFED, Department of  Personnel and Training for Kendriya Bhandar, and Department of Consumer Affairs  for NCCF, these Departments have been requested to review and monitor  the Track-and-Trace  mechanism put in place by these organizations for  supply of Bharat brand products. The Departments have also been asked to undertake periodic review of  supply chain management of retail  sales ofBharat Atta  and Bharat Rice.

The retail sale of  Bharat Dal under Bharat Brand was discontinued from April,  2025. The assessment of monitoring or tracking ofBharat Chana Dal has been done by Quality Council of India.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO (a) OF THE UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5423 FOR ANSWER ON 25.03.2026 IN THE LOK  SABHA

## Bharat  Atta  and Bharat  Rice:

The quantity allocated, lifted  and sold in respect of Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice since their launch are given below:

(Qty. in MT)

| Organization     | Wheat                    | Wheat                 | Wheat               | Rice                     | Rice                  | Rice                |
|------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------|---------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------|---------------------|
| Organization     | Total Quantity Allocated | Total Quantity lifted | Total Quantity Sold | Total Quantity Allocated | Total Quantity lifted | Total Quantity sold |
| Kendriya Bhandar | 5,64,238                 | 5,38,387              | 5,38,218            | 6,99,500                 | 6,64,926              | 6,62,391            |
| NAFED            | 8,41 ,461                | 7,93 , 574            | 7,91 ,743           | 5,60,500                 | 5, 13,279             | 5,09,260            |
| NCCF             | 6, 1 1,362               | 5,59,771              | 5,59,67 1           | 6, 10,000                | 5,60,688              | 5,57,918            |
| Total            | 20, 17,061               | 18,91,732             | 18,89,632           | 18,70,000                | 17,38,893             | 17,29,569           |

During  phase-1,  10000 MT of wheat was allocated to The Maharashtra State Co-Operative  Marketing Federation Ltd. (MSCMFL) out of which 8108.05 MT of wheat was lifted from FCI and the entire lifted quantity  of wheat was sold.

## Bharat Dal:

To make daIs available to consumers at affordable prices, Bharat Dal was launched in July 2023 by converting  Chana stock in the PSF into (:hana daI for  retail  disposal. About  12.36 lakh  MT ofBharat  Chana Dal has been sold to retail consumers in Phase- I ofBharat  Chana Dal.

Further, additional quantity of  3 LMT  was allocated for retail distribution  under Bharat (Chana) dal phase-II till  31 December 2024. A quantity  of 1.71 LMT  chana dal and 43,901 MT  ofChana whole have been sold till  date.

The Bharat Dal was extended to  include Bharat Moong Dal and Masur Dal. About  7142 MT  of Bharat Moong Dal and 929 MT  of Masur Dal were sold to retail consumers  till  12.03.2025. As price of pulses have stabilized, the retail sale ofDals  under Bharat  Brand was discontinued from April 2025.