New Delhi: The Central government will start the sale of onions directly to consumers at a subsidised price of Rs 35 per kg in the national capital from Thursday to cool down soaring prices of the vegetable, which are hovering at Rs 55-60 per kg.
The onions being released into the market are from a buffer stock of 1.21 lakh tonnes maintained across producing states for 2026, and the Centre is using its price stabilisation fund to rein in rising onion prices, a senior official said.
The retail intervention will be carried out through Nafed, National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and Kendriya Bhandar outlets.
NCCF will sell onions directly to consumers through 100 Kendriya Bhandar stores and also plans to extend the sale through Mother Dairy outlets in Delhi-NCR.
NCCF holds a buffer stock of 62,000 tonnes of onion and is transporting 400 tonnes from Nashik in Maharashtra with the “Kanda Express” scheduled to reach Delhi on Thursday.
Nafed, which is maintaining a buffer of less than 55,000 tonnes of onion, will similarly sell onions in Delhi and other centres, including Kochi and Guwahati. The first such rake, carrying 800 tonnes of onions, has already left Nashik and is en route to Delhi.
Besides Delhi, four other centres — Chennai, Ernakulam, Madurai and Guwahati –are set to receive onion supplies through special freight trains being run for the purpose.
Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the government intends to roll out the scheme in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, and Raipur in the coming days
Meanwhile, prices of onion in the wholesale market in Nashik and Lasalgaon in Maharashtra started to drop following the government announcing its move to intervene in the market. This has lowered inflationary expectations, which are playing a key role in fuelling the price spiral, a senior official said.
The move comes amid a steep spike in onion prices over the past month. The all-India average retail price rose over 28 per cent to Rs 44.72 per kg on August 25, up from Rs 34.80 per kg a month earlier on July 25. Compared with a year ago, when onions retailed at Rs 28.67 per kg, prices have jumped 56 per cent.
(IANS)
