Quality Checks - Agmark in India

Agmark Grading and Standardisation is a Central Sector Scheme.
Objectives
Promotion of Grading and Standardisation of agricultural and allied commodities under Agricultural Produce (Grading & Marking) Act, 1937.
Salient features
Quality standards for agricultural commodities are framed based on their intrinsic quality. Food safety factors are being incorporated in the standards to complete in World trade. Standards are being harmonised with international standards keeping in view the WTO requirements. Certification of agricultural commodities is carried out for the benefit of producer/manufacturer and consumer. Certification of adulteration prone commodities viz. Butter, Ghee, Vegetable Oils, Ground-Spices, Honey, Wheat Atta etc. is very popular. Blended Edible Vegetable Oils and Fat Spread are compulsorily required to be certified under Agmark. Facilities for testing and grading of Cotton for the benefit of cotton growers is provided through six cotton classing centres set up in cotton growing belt in the country.Check is kept on the quality of certified products through 23 laboratories and 43 offices spread all over the country.

Eligibility
Parties desirous to grade their commodities under Agmark have to obtain Certificate of Authorization. For the purpose, they should have adequate infrastructure to process the commodity and access to an approved laboratory for the determination of quality and safety factors.

A sample AGMARK seal
AGMARK BESAN
SL.NO. B-162002
GRADE-STANDARD
PLACE OF PACKAGING…….
DATE OF PACKAGING……
NET WEIGHT……..

The quality of a product is determined with reference to the size, variety, weight, colour, moisture, fat content and other factors are taken into account. The grades incorporated are grades 1,2,3 and 4 or special, good, fair and ordinary.

Legal Tenders

Legal tender or forced tender is payment that, by law, cannot be refused in settlement of a debt denominated in the same currency.Legal tender is a status which may be conferred on certain examples of money, which may depend on circumstances including the amount of money. The term legal tender does not refer to the money itself.

Legal tender is a concept that is frequently misunderstood: this is often a result of differing legal definitions in different jurisdictions. Cheques, credit cards, debit cards and similar non-cash methods of payment are not generally defined as legal tender. Only specific coin and note examples of cash money are usually defined as legal tender. Some jurisdictions may, by law, forbid or otherwise restrict payment made other than by legal tender. For example, such a law might outlaw the use of foreign coins and bank notes, or require a license to perform financial transactions in a foreign currency.

In some jurisdictions legal tender can be refused as payment if no debt exists prior to the time of payment (for example, where the obligation to pay arises substantially contemporaneously with the offer of payment). Consequently vending machines and transport staff do not have to accept the largest denomination of banknote for a single bus fare or bar of chocolate, and even shopkeepers can reject large banknotes — this is covered by the legal concept known as invitation to treat. However, restaurants that do not collect money until after a meal is served would have to accept that legal tender for payment of the debt incurred in purchasing the meal.

The right, in many jurisdictions, of a trader to refuse to do business with any person means a purchaser cannot demand to make a purchase, and so declaring a legal tender other than for debts would not be effective.

Tender in India
The Indian rupee is the only legal tender in India. The rupee is also legal tender in Nepal and Bhutan. But Nepali Rupee and Bhutanese Ngultrum are not legal tender in India.The Indian National Rupee is not accepted in Government institutions like Post Offices etc in Nepal and Bhutan.

Consumer Markets

India is currently the twelfth largest consumer market in the world. According to a study by McKinsey Global Institute, India is likely to join the premier league of the world’s consumer market by 2025 improving its position to the fifth.

Aggregate consumption in India is expected to grow four-fold in real terms during the period, 2006-2025 to touch US$ 1.73 trillion from US$ 420.7 billion. Also, by then, the middle class will have grown almost 12 times, from 50 million in 2006 to 583 million in 2025. Over 23 million Indians—more than the population of Australia—will number among the country’s wealthiest citizens.

FMCG
India's fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy. The total FMCG market is in excess of US$ 17.36 billion and is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4 billion in 2015. . The Indian FMCG industry grew by 22% in 2006. Of the total sales, food (43%) and personal care (22%) are the largest categories.

The fact that the per capita income has nearly doubled in a short span of four years to just under US$ 800 in 2006-07 (from around US$ 450 in 2002-03), has boosted the growth of FMCG companies.The top 10 FMCG companies clocked net sales and net profit growth of 19 per cent for the quarter ended March 2007, compared with the corresponding period for the previous year.

The prospect for further growth in this segment is robust as in many category of commodities the market penetration levels of the organised sector is still low. These commodities include instant coffee (6.6 per cent), deodorants (2.1 per cent), skin creams (22 per cent) and utensil cleaners (28 per cent).

Consumer Durables
A combination of changing lifestyles, higher disposable income, greater product awareness and affordable pricing has been instrumental in changing the pattern of consumer expenditure. The consumer durables industry, which includes white goods, televisions, VCD and DVD players, and audio systems, has been one of the segments to experience increased demand.

• The microwave oven industry (worth US$ 173.35 million) grew at a robust rate of 48.5%, with the solo category increasing 22%, grill model increasing 36% and convection model growing at 71% over the last year.
• The fully automatic washing machines market grew at the rate of 40% while the semi-automatic market rose by 19% in the first quarter of 2007.
• Refrigerators sales rose by 10.7% in value terms and 6.7% in volume terms to touch US$ 936.2 million and 3.75 million units respectively in 2006-07.
• Air conditioners sales grew by 50% in value terms to US$ 494.5 million and 51.6% in volume terms (1.05 million) in 2006-07.
• Frost-free refrigerators clocked an unprecedented growth of 50 per cent this summer compared with the previous year.

Consumer Electronics
The consumer electronics sector is estimated to grow at the rate of 11 per cent, achieving a production level of US$ 4.95 billion during 2006-07 compared with US$ 4.45 billion in 2005-06. The fast growing segments during the year were colour TVs, DVD players and home theatre systems.

• Colour TV (CTV) production has shot up to over 12 million units during the year 2006-07. The flat CTV segment now accounts for over 50 per cent of the total domestic TV production.
• Personal computer (PC) sales are expected to cross 6.5 million units during the year 2006-07. The India client PC market witnessed a 20 per cent year-on-year growth in unit shipments, with the total installed base of PCs in India crossing 22 million during 2006-07.
• Sales of TVs are growing by an estimated 13-15%.
• Sales of home theatres have been growing at the rate of 80 -90% a year.
• Mobile handset production is expected to grow to over 51 million units this year against 31 million in 2006 to record the highest growth in the Asia-Pacific region, technology research firm Gartner has predicted.

iSuppli, a electronics market research firm, predicts that the Indian audio/video consumer electronics industry will grow to US$ 6.59 billion by 2011, rising at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10% from US$ 4.5 billion in 2007.

Automobiles
The Indian auto industry, worth US$ 34 billion in 2006, has grown at a CAGR of 14% over the last five years with total domestic sales of vehicles reaching around 10.1 million vehicles in 2006-07. Presently, India is the second largest two-wheeler market in the world, the fourth largest commercial vehicle market, the 11th largest passenger car market in the world, and is expected to be the seventh largest by 2016.

Credit Cards
Currently, the number of credit and debit cards in circulation is close to 26 million and 60 million, respectively. The total transaction on the cards as a whole during the year is said to be close to US$ 30.93 billion.

India has become the largest market for VISA debit and pre-paid cards in Asia-Pacific with about 33.9 million card-holders in 2006, accounting for about 3% of the company's total customer-base. Even in terms of total transaction, India is among the top three destinations in the region, accounting for about 62 per cent of the total debit and prepaid card transactions.

E-commerce
Thanks to the broadband revolution, more Indians are spending ever more on the web. On last count, 10.8 million Indians, or 43% of the country’s total internet population, bought online. This is 76 per cent more than the number a year ago. The e-commerce market is estimated to grow at 150 per cent to touch US$ 1.36 billion in 2007-08 from US$ 544 million in 2006-07.While the top ten cities account for 45 per cent of the overall shoppers base, urban uptowns, emerging uptowns and other towns account for the rest.

Real Estate Mortgage
In 1995, just 2.6 million urban households in India could afford a mortgage. After eight years of rapid economic expansion, that number had rocketed to 20.5 million -- a CAGR of 29.4%.

In the last fiscal, 2006-07, many banks continued to show robust loan disbursements. The home loan disbursements of public sector banks grew by over 21%, with the total amount outstanding touching US$ 33.42 billion during 2006-07 as against US$ 27.62 billion in 2005-06. SBI had reported growth of around 18% in 2006-07.The ICICI bank's home loan portfolio on March 31, 2007, was around US$ 15.71 billion, constituting 30 per cent of its total advances.

Consumer Confidence
The Indian consumer remains the most upbeat globally. According to the AC Nielson Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey, India tops both the 47-nation global survey and the 14-country Asia Pacific study for the fifth time in a row. Also the perception of Indians regarding their personal finances (90 per cent optimistic) and job prospects (94 per cent optimistic) is robust.

The Indian middle-class, which is the backbone of the India market story, comprises 56 million people in households earning US$ 4,400-21,800 a year. The upper middle and high-income urban households are estimated to grow to 38.2 million in 2007 from 14.6 million in 2000, according to the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

With the population of high net worth individuals crossing 1,00,000 this year, the prospect for luxury goods market is also bright and is estimated to touch US$ 452 million in coming years.

Indian Standards Institution (ISI)

World Standards Day is celebrated the world over to raise awareness and focus on the need for global standardization and its role in meeting the needs of consumers, trade and industry. It is celebrated on October 14 every year to mark the foundation of the International Organization for Standardization, popularly known as the ISO.

It was on this day in 1946 that 25 countries met in London and decided to create an international organization with the objective of facilitating international coordination and unification of industrial standards. The ISO started functioning in 1947 with the Indian Standards Institution as one of the founder members. Over the years, the membership of ISO has gone up with 130 member countries representing developed and developing economies.

The Bureau of Indian Standards
In the twilight years of the British rule in India, when the country was faced with the gigantic task of laying the industrial infrastructure, it was the institution of Engineers (India), which prepared the first draft of the constitution of an Institution which could take up the task of formulation of National Standards. This led to the Department of Industries and Supplies issuing a memorandum on September 3, 1946 formally announcing the setting up of an organisation called the Indian Standards Institution. It was on January 6, 1947 that the ISI came into being and in June 1947 Dr. Lal C. Verman took over as its first Director. Symbolic of the role, the Indian Standards Institution (I.S.I.) was to play the first standard drawn was for the National Flag of India.

Considerable progress has since been made by the Indian Standards Institution with its multifarious activities like standards formulation, certification, testing of products international cooperation and standards promotion. However, a need was felt to provide recognition and status to the organisation to enable it to discharge its functions effectively. Thus the Government enacted the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 which led to the establishment of the Bureau of Indian Standards as a statutory body on April 1, 1987.

Standardization is intrinsic to life and we see its many manifestations in nature and life around us. Standardization encourages improvement in the quality of life and makes major contributions to safety, public health and environment protection.

Standardization is based on the experiences of daily life itself. They are results of a cooperative effort, and revised from time to time to keep in step with technological progress. They provide us with a criteria for judgement, a measurement of quality and a certain guarantee of compatibility and interchangeability.

In the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), similar to standards bodies the world over, standards are formulated through technical committees which have representatives from the manufacturers, technical experts and users. The standards are documents of consensus which are finalized after taking the views of all those who may have an interest in it.

BIS plays the key role of holding the secretariat for the Technical Committees and collating and analysing the data and other information which may be required for formulating the standards. BIS has formulated nearly 17,000 standards which may be categorized as basic standards, product specifications and methods of test and codes of practices.

ISI Standard Mark
With the objective of satisfying the consumer in terms of product quality, the BIS has undertaken various quality certification activities. The domestic consumer is familiar with the ISI mark on a product which is an assurance that the product conforms to the requirements as laid down in the specification. Conformity to the standard is ensured through regular surveillance of the manufacturing process, surprise inspections and testing of samples drawn from the factory as well as from the market. Fraudulent and unauthorized use of the ISI mark is a violation of the law punishable under the BIS Act.

Quality Management System
There is a world-wide movement for installing Quality Management Systems in accordance with the IS/ISO 9000 series. In India also this has become a prime requisite for manufacturers and service sector units which wish to make an impact in the domestic and global markets. The concept of Quality Management Systems aims at quality control mechanism at every stage of a manufacturing or a service system and not just the quality of the end product as is the case with product certification.

With the growing concern for environment-friendly industrial activity, the ISO 14,000 series of standards were developed. After adopting these standards as national standards the BIS has also launched the Environment Management System Certification under which units may demonstrate their compliance with the ISO 14000 standards. The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) Certification which again has acquired international recognition for certifying the safety of food manufacturing process has also been undertaken by the BIS. The Bureau of Indian Standards has also formulated IS 15000 : 1998 which is equivalent to the internationally accepted Codex standards.

Product Testing
BIS has established a chain of laboratories at different centres in the country for testing the conformity of certified products and also samples offered by applicants for grant of ISI mark. It also offers specialized services of calibration of test equipment and instruments and procurement of standard reference materials. They also undertake research and development for evolving speedy and effective test methods.

As a founder member of International Organization for Standardization (ISO), BIS continues to actively participate in international standardization. As a member of the ISO Council it participates in its policy-making bodies like the Committee on Developing Country matters (DEVCO), Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO), Committee on Information (INFCO) and Committee on Consumer Policy (COPOLCO). Besides, it also holds secretarial responsibilities of various Technical Committees and Subcommittees and maintains participation status and observer status on most of the Technical Committees.

BIS is also actively involved in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and has participation status or observer on all the important Technical Committees.

Consumer Protection Act,1986

Aims and Objectives

• To provide certain important scheduled commodities to the ration card holders at reasonable rates at prescribed quantum.
• To indirectly control open market prices of certain commodities.
• To protect the interests of consumers through enforcement of Weights & Measures Act and rules thereunder.
• To implement Minimum Support Price Scheme of the Central Government to safeguard farmer's interests
• Matters incidental and supplementary to the above objectives.
• To promote & protect the rights of consumers by theway of implementation of Consumer Protection Act.
  

Functions of the Department

• To implement the Public Distribution System in the State
• To implement Minimum Support Price Scheme.
• To implement Maharashtra Rice (Levy on Rice millers) Order, 1989.
• To implement Mid Day Meal Scheme in association with school education Department.
• To assist implement ''Annapurna'' Scheme of the Central Government.
• Creation and maintenance of storage facilities for PDS.
• Implementation of Consumer Protection Act, 1986
  

Defination of Consumer
Defination of Consumer as defined in the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, 'Consumer' means any person who -

• buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any user of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment when such use is made with the approval of such person,but does not include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose; or
• hires or avails of any services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person who hires or avails of the services for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person;{Explanation,- For the purposes of sub-clause (i), "commercial purpose" does not include use by a consumer of goods bought and used by him exclusively for the purpose of earning his livelihood, by means of self-employment.

Implementation of Consumer Protection Act
Consumer Protection:- This department is nodal department for implementing provisions of the consumer protection Act 1986, and for that purpose following authorities have been established for the redressal of grievances of the Consumers :

• Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at State Level.
• District Forums at District levels.

State Commission

• The State Commission is established in the year 1989. The President and two other members appointed on this Commission.
• The person, who is or has been a judge of the High Court, is appointed as the President and two other members, who shall be persons of ability, integrity and standing and have adequate knowledge or experience of, or have shown capacity in dealing with problems relating to economics, law, commerce, accountancy, industry, public affairs or administration are appointed.
• Out of the two members, one will be a lady member. The Commission shall have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of the goods or services and compensation, if any, claimed exceeds Rs.20,00,000/- but does not exceed Rs.100,00,000/-. It also decides the appeals filed against the judgements of the District Forums.

District Forums

• A person who is or has been or is qualified to be a District Judge is appointed as the President and two other Members, who are having qualifications as that of State Commission members; are appointed on the District Forum.
• Out of these two members, one will be a lady member .The Forum shall have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of goods or services and the compensation, if any claimed does not exceed Rs. 20 lakhs.
• In Maharashtra, every district has got one forum and the districts of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur have additional forums as they have more number of complaints. At present 34 district forums are working in the State.

State Consumer Protection Council

• This Council was initially constituted in the year 1987, for a period of 3 years. This Council consists Members of Parliaments, Members of Legislative Assemblies, representatives of Voluntary Consumer Organizations, Representatives of Trade and Commerce Organization, Government Officials, persons in the Consumer Protection field as well as the journalists.
• The objects of this Council is to promote and protect within the State, the rights of the consumers as laid down in 'Section 6 ' of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
• Important Schemes for Consumer Protection
• Every year the Government makes budgetary provisions for the Consumer Welfare Fund and it is spent on the Consumer Protection related matters.
• There are many Voluntary Consumer Organizations. Since, these
• Transitions contribute to the welfare of the consumers and create awareness, such organizations are given assistance for their work.
• The Central Government has started a Scheme under which the Voluntary Consumer Organizations which do commendable work in the Consumer Protection field are granted Rs.50,000/-,Rs.40,000/- & Rs.30,000/- along with Merit Certificate.
• Similarly, there is National Youth Scheme under which the Youths between 15-35 years age-group are given Rs.20,000/-,Rs.15,000/- & Rs.10,000/- along with Merit Certificate for their contribution in consumer field. The State Government recommends, the names received from the Consumer Organizations to the Central Government.
• To create awareness in the School/College students, lecturers are given in each district and for that purpose visiting lecturers are appointed.
• Apart from the above, the Government has created Consumer Protection Cells at District level under the Chairmanship of the Collector. The Cell consists of 17 unofficial members from different Consumer Organizations, representatives of Gas dealers, petrol dealers & Traders' Organizations apart from the Senior Officers at District level connected with consumer goods/services.
• The meetings of the Cell are held every month and the consumer problems are solved on the spot and many other problems are settled after regular follow-up

Public Distribution System

Fair Price Shops
Procedure of sanctioning Fair Price Shops
In Maharashtra Fair Price Shops are sanctioned by
a) By Advertisement: Applications for sanctioning of Fair Price Shop are invited by way of advertisement published in local newspaper.A notice to that effect is also pasted on notice board at " Chavadi "
b)Without advertisement

• For sanctioning Fair Price Shop at villages having a population less than 5000, applications are invited by way of pasting a notice to that effect on notice board at "Chavadi " and also by giving publicity by way of "Dawandi"(beat of drums). In such case publishing advertisement in local newspaper is not necessory.
• Moreover the Fair Price Shops can be allotted to the state level organisations like , Mahila Arhik Vikas Mahamandal, Marketing Federation, Vidarbh Co-operative Marketing Society, Maharashtra Tribal Development Corporation,Apana Bazar, Super Bazar etc, without formal advertisement in news paper.

Reservation for individual womens
The 33% of the the total shops to be sanctioned are reserved for individual womens.The reservation is done by lottery method in the meeting of the " local Vigillance Committee" before publishing the advertisement in the news paper.
(II)Priority List followed for sanctioning Fair Price Shops
After receipt of applications for sanction of fair price shops the following priority list is followed :

A) Integrated Tribal Development Area

• Permanently residing local Educated unemployed tribal person (male / female )
• Permanently resided local tribal person ( male / female )
• Tribal Co-operative Society
• Village Level Multi-purpose service co-operative society
• Consumer Co-operative society of Tribal Women
• Other consumer co-operative society
  

B) Other Areas

• Wife of defence personnel died in military action, his major son or unmarried daughter / Ex Serviceman/Handicapped persons / Project affected persons
• Educated unemployed person ( male / female )
• Person belonging to SC, ST, VJ & NT
• Consumer Cooperative Society of backward class
• Women's Consumer Cooperative Society
• Other Consumer Cooperative Society
• Village level multipurpose cooperative service society
• Others

Recommendation by Gramasabha
Then in rural areas after scrutiny of applications so received lists of eligible persons / organizations are kept before gram sabha. The gram sabhas are asked to select proper candidate for sanction of fair price shop as per priority list prescribed by the State Government. The District Supply Officer formally sanctions fair price shop to the person selected by gram sabha

In urban areas the after scrutiny of applications so received the licensing authority competent authority selects proper candidate as per priority list for allotment of fair price shop and the shop is so sanctioned. In tribal areas locally resided tribal person has been given highest priority for sanctioning of fair price shop.

Mechanism of Lifting, Transportation & Delivery To F.P.Shops.

• There is no State Civil Supplies Corporation in Maharashtra.The arrangements for lifting of foodgrains from FCI depots to Government godowns at various blocks are made through the supply machinery of the State Government.
• In Mumbai-Thane Rationing Area, the Director of Civil Supplies (Warehousing & Movement) lifts the foodgrains from FCI depots, transports these grains to various State Government godowns, standardise the bags and issue these grains to the Fair Price Shopkeepers or their organised bodies as per the Delivery Orders issued by the Controller of Rationing, Mumbai.
• In districts, the Additional Collector and District Supply Officer remits the money to FCI, lifts and transports the foodgrains through the transport contractors, stores these grains after standardisation in State godowns at block level and these foodgrains are issued to the Fair Price Shopkeepers by the Godown Keepers, as per the permits issued by the Tahsildar.
• Door Step Delivery Scheme:- The Door Step Delivery Scheme is being implemented in the Tribal areas and DPAP areas wherein the transportation of the commodities is carried out from Government godowns up to door step of Fair Price shops by the Government vehicles and at the Government cost. At present, about 5,000 Fair Price Shops in ITDP areas are covered by 162 vehicles and about 2,000 Fair Price Shops in DPAP areas are covered by 90 vehicles. In tribal areas, the scheme is being implemented through the Maharashtra State Cooperative Tribal Development Corporation Limited, while in DPAP areas it is implemented through the Maharashtra State Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited. The Corporation and the Federation are reimbursed for running cost of the Scheme @ Rs.15.00 and Rs.13.00 per quintal , respectively.

Important provisions under Targeted Public Distribution System

• Availability of Foodgrains in first week :- The State Government has prescribed detailed time table for lifting of foodgrains and other essential commodities and making them available through fair price shops, in first week of every month. The instructions are issued to take strict action against defaulting fair price shopkeepers.
• Weekly drawal of ration quota :- The cardholders are allowed to draw their entitlements from fair price shops on weekly basis.
• Drawal of ration quota of previous month :- The cardholders are allowed to draw their ration for previous months in the succeeding month.
• Timings of Fair Price Shops :- Instructions are issued to keep the fair price shops open for at least four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening on all days of the month. In industrial areas and at the places of weekly bazaar's, shopkeepers are asked to keep open their shops throughout the day on such days.
• Display of lists of beneficiaries :- The shopkeepers are asked to display the lists of the beneficiaries under BPL / Antyodaya / Annapurna in fair price shops and allow the cardholders to see them.
• Display of Stock position :-It is mandatary on the FPS to display the stock position prominently on the shop. The Shop keepers are also instructed to display the price of each of the commodity
• Publish monthly quantum :- The district authorities are asked to give wide publicity to the commodities being distributed through targeted PDS, their quantum and rates, through local news papers. They are also instructed to display copies of such press notes on the notice boards of Gram Panchayat. The district collectors are also instructed to take help of local audio visual media like local cable TV operators for publishing this information.
• Right of information regarding the Fair Price Shops (FPSs) :- Address of the FPS is written on every ration card in state. The FPS in the state should maintain basic information regarding name of card holders, No. of Units, and Identity of residence of the card holder and BPL cards should be marked distinctly.
• Involvement of the Gram Sabha in the running of the FPS :-It has made mandatary to discuss about the working of FPS in the village as priority subject on the agenda of Gram Sabha .
• Information on ration cards :- On recently issued tricolor ration cards the consumer's rights and instructions for making complaints are printed.
• Furnishing information concerning PDS to interest groups :-

1. Any person/institution N.G.O. (Local or outsider) can apply for information about the quota sanctioned to a Fair Price Shop, Number of Cards attached to the Fair Price Shops, Card population, Quantum and Actual Off takes /sale from the Fair Price Shops.
2. A nominal fee of Rs.3/- per month for information, will be charged up to last three months. Information beyond a period of last three months and up to one year will be on payment of Rs.5/- per month. The relevant information will be supplied to the applicant preferably within 24 hours and in any case within four days from the date of application.
3. The information can be sent by post also.
4. The information will be supplied in the prescribed pro forma over the seal and signature of Rationing Officer/ Tahsildar.
5. Rationing Officer/ Tahsildar to provide shop wise/ village wise information of last month's off takes and current month's sanctioned quota to B.D.O. for onward transmission of this information to all concerned village Panchayats.
6. Instructions have been also issued for display of shop wise sanctioned quota of various commodities on the Notice Board of Rationing Officer/ Tahsil Office.

Storage Facility for Public Distribution System
'Annapurna' Scheme
Under "Annapurna scheme" 10 Kgs of foodgrains per month are provided free of cost to the destitutes, aged 65 years and above.

Elligilibility Criteria
1) The age of the person (male or Female) should be 65 years or above.
2)The person must be destitute in the sense of having little or no regular means of subsistence from his/her own source of Income or through financial support from family members or other sources.
3) The person should not be in receipt of pension under the National old age pension scheme or state pension scheme.

Procedure for Application
The application in prescribed proforma is to be submitted to the concerned Tahasildar or Collector through Gramsevak /Talathi/Ward Officer/Chief officer of Municipal Council, in areas other than Mumbai/Thane Rationing Area. In Mumbai/Thane Rationing Area application form is to be submitted to the Controller of Rationing, Royal Insurance Building , Churchgate, Mumbai, through rationing office.If case of difficulty, Tahasildar or Collector/ Controller can be contacted.At present nearly 1,20,000 beneficiaries have been identified & 10 kgs of foodgrains Free of Cost are being distributed to them.

Other Schemes

• Minimum Support Price Scheme: This Scheme of the Central Government is implemented on behalf of the Food Corporation of India. It aims at safeguarding the interests of farmers and prevents distress sales of certain foodgrains. MSP is declared by GOI every season. In Maharashtra MSP Scheme is mainly implemented for Paddy, Jowar, Bajra and Maize. For Kharif Season of year 2000-2001, the MSP for FAQ Paddy 'A' Grade is Rs.540/-, for Common Paddy Rs.510/- and for Jowar, Bajra and Maize (FAQ) Rs.445/- per quintal. The specifications for determining the FAQ standards are also prescribed. The Maharashtra State Co-op. Tribal Development Corporation Ltd. (for Tribal Sub Plan Areas) and the Maharashtra State Co-op. Marketing Federation Ltd. (for rest of the areas) are appointed as procurement agencies who open purchase centers at important market centers/block headquarters for purchase of paddy and coarse grains from the farmers during the marketing season. The grains are purchased at these centers after verifying that the seller is really a farmer/producer and not a trader through 7/12 Extracts, etc.
• Collection of Levy Rice: This Scheme is implemented in the main rice growing districts of the State. As per Maharashtra Rice (Levy on Rice-millers) Order, 1989,the rice millers are required to give levy on the paddy milled in their mills at a prescribed percentage. At present, levy on rice millers is 30% in the State. The levy is not on the farmers. The rates of levy rice are fixed by the Central Government every season. Levy Rice Prices for the Kharif Procurement Season of the year 2000-2001 are Rs.831.5 for Raw Rice Common Grade, Rs.833.70 for Parboiled Rice Common Grade, Rs.877.20 for 'A' Grade Raw Rice and Rs.878.70 for 'A' Grade Parboiled Rice, per quintal. The procurement of levy rice is done by FCI through the District Additional Collectors and District Supply Officers. In the last season, about 56,000 MT of levy rice is collected in the State. The specifications of levy rice are also prescribed. Government of India has exempted the Levy on Rice in Maharashtra for the current 2000-2001 year.
• ''Annapurna'' Scheme: Under "Annapurna scheme" 10 Kgs of foodgrains per month are provided free of cost to the destitutes, aged 65 years and above.

Eligibility Criteria

• The age of the person (male or Female) should be 65 years or above.
• The person must be destitute in the sense of having little or no regular means of subsistence from his/her own source of Income or through financial support from family members or other sources.
• The person should not be in receipt of pension under the National old age pension scheme or state pension scheme.
  

Procedure for Application
The application in prescribed proforma is to be submitted to the concerned Tahasildar or Collector through Gramsevak /Talathi/Ward Officer/Chief officer of Municipal Council, in areas other than Mumbai/Thane Rationing Area. In Mumbai/Thane Rationing Area application form is to be submitted to the Controller of Rationing, Royal Insurance Building , Churchgate, Mumbai, through rationing office.If case of difficulty, Tahasildar or Collector/ Controller can be contacted.At present nearly 8000 beneficiaries have been identified & 10 kgs of foodgrains Free of Cost are being distributed to them.

HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY

MARGADARSI CHITFUND keeps a promise

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