Wheat exports reach 3 mn tn; govt considering requests from other nations

India has exported nearly 30 lakh tonnes of wheat this fiscal so far and is considering requests from some countries for the supply of the grain, the government said on Wednesday.

On plans to ban wheat flour (atta) export, Food Secretary Sudhansu Pandey said the government is monitoring the situation and would take steps at appropriate time.

Effective from May 13, the government suspended wheat export to ensure domestic availability and check price rise. However, the government had said it would allow wheat export to other nations on a case to case basis.

"Requests have come from several countries, they are under consideration," Joint Secretary in the Food Ministry, Partha S Das, told reporters.

Das, however, did not divulge the names of countries that have made requests for Indian wheat.

The official said some quantities have been approved for a few countries. For instance, 1.5 lakh tonnes of wheat has been exported to Bangladesh.

He said the country has exported a total of 29.70 lakh tonnes of wheat till June 14 of the current fiscal. Wheat flour (atta) exports were at 2.59 lakh tonnes in the same period.

On ration card portability under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme, the Secretary said it has been implemented across India now with Assam being the last state to implement the scheme.

He said the state governments and other union ministries have been asked to use the data of ONORC for framing right policies and programmes. The data can be used in other schemes like Ayushman Bharat, PM-KISAN, E-shram, among others.