New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) The government on Wednesday asked pulse importers to declare stocks held by them regularly in a transparent manner and not to hold back foodgrains as part of its efforts to ensure sufficient domestic availability.

According to an official statement, Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, the Department of Consumer Affairs, "directed major pulses importers to ensure that all stocks available with them are declared in a transparent manner regularly".

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They were advised not to hold back any stock, which may disrupt the availability of pulses in the domestic market.

Meanwhile, the committee under the Chairmanship of Additional Secretary Nidhi Khare took a meeting with all the states/UTs on Wednesday wherein they were requested to explore all the sources to increase the number of registered entities in the Stock Declaration Portal, including FSSAI licensees, APMC registered traders and GST Registered traders of pulses.

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To cross-validate the stocks declared, states were also requested to get information from warehouse service providers both public and private.

The need to monitor stocks of imported pulses at custom bonded warehouses was also emphasised to ensure their timely release from ports.

"The government has stepped up its efforts to monitor stock disclosures of pulses by millers, stockists, traders, importers, etc. to ensure that prices of tur are normalised and the availability and affordability of tur are ensured in the domestic market," the statement said.

The department is also planning to hold interaction with all stakeholders across the value chain to ensure the availability and affordability of pulses for consumers.

The Pulses Associations and Importers have assured wholehearted cooperation in disclosing the stocks in a transparent manner.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)