“We are now adding 16 more commodities, taking the total number of food items to 38 whose prices will be monitored on a daily basis,” Joshi said.
The newly added commodities include bajra (whole), jowar (whole), ragi (whole), suji (wheat), maida (wheat), besan, ghee, butter (pasteurised), brinjal, egg, black pepper, coriander, cumin seed, red chillies, turmeric powder, and banana.
The Price Monitoring Division (PMD) within the department is tasked with tracking the prices of these essential commodities.
The minister also launched an updated ‘PMS Mobile App Version 4.0’, designed to help price reporting centers report daily on the updated list of 38 commodities.
“We will get to know the actual price situation of 38 commodities on a daily basis. We will get information about the price rise. This will help in policy-making and stabilising volatility in prices,” the minister stated.Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare added, “The 38 commodities constitute close to 31 per cent of the total CPI (consumer price inflation) weights as against 26.5 per cent of CPI weights captured by the 22 commodities.”She also noted that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had advised the department to expand the list of monitored commodities.
Previously, the government monitored 22 commodities: rice, wheat, atta, gram dal, tur (Arhar) dal, urad dal, moong dal, masur dal, sugar, gur, groundnut oil, mustard oil, vanaspati, sunflower oil, soya oil, palm oil, tea, milk, potato, onion, tomato, and salt.
The minister highlighted that the government has allocated Rs 10,000 crore under the price stabilisation fund (PSF).
The fund is designed to address inflationary trends for selected agri-horticultural commodities like onions, potatoes, and pulses, aiming to protect consumer interests. These commodities are procured and stored for regulated release to help moderate prices. Such market intervention by the government aims to send appropriate market signals and deter speculative or hoarding activities.
(With ANI inputs)