Govt to monitor prices of 16 more commodities; to include besan, ghee, butter egg under price monitoring

The department of consumer affairs, will monitor prices of 16 additional commodities under price monitoring in addition to the 22 commodities it does at present, said Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & New and Renewable Energy on Thursday.

These items include bajra, jowar, ragi, suji (wheat), maida (wheat), besan, ghee, butter, brinjal, egg, black pepper, coriander, cummin seed, red chillies, turmeric powder and banana.

The 38 commodities constitute close to 31% of the total CPI weights as against 26.5% of CPI weights captured by the 22 commodities, the department said in a statement.


The department has been monitoring the daily prices from 550 centres across 34 states and provides advance inputs for policy decision for the government, RBI and analysts regarding the CPI inflation.

“The increase in coverage of food items under daily price monitoring will play a crucial role in policy interventions to stabilise price volatility in food items and to control the overall inflation,” the statement added.

The minister also said that grain deficient states can directly purchase from Food Corporation of India (FCI) under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) (OMSS [D]) without participating in the e-auction from August 1, 2024.

The decision has been taken to reduce the huge surplus of stocks prior to the commencement of the new procurement season.