Wheat procurement surges, giving govt breathing room on grain aid

The Centre is confident of maintaining wheat-rice allocations under its Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) this year, said two officials familiar with the matter, buoyed by strong wheat procurement ahead of key state elections where food for the poor remains a sensitive political issue.

- Vijay C. Roy & Dhirendra Kumar

Under PM-GKAY, 813.5 million beneficiaries receive 5 kg of free food grains each month—currently split as 2 kg wheat and 3 kg rice—translating to an annual wheat requirement of around 19.5 million tonnes (mt). Wheat procurement in the 2025-26 Rabi marketing season (April-June) has already crossed 30mt, nearing the government's target of 33.37mt, according to the Food Corp. of India (FCI).

"We have enough stock to meet the requirement, and it will continue through the year," said one of the officials cited earlier, adding that adequate stocks would also allow for market interventions if prices rise.