With rice prices rising, the Telangana government has stepped in. Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy announced after a review in Hyderabad on Friday that BPT rice, the most widely eaten variety, must not cost more than ₹66 a kg.
Key points
- Cap: ₹66 a kg for BPT rice. RNR rice will be priced separately, based on quality and production costs.
- Premium rice now sells at ₹90 to ₹105 a kg in the open market.
- Joint raids by Civil Supplies, Police, GST, Legal Metrology and local officials covered the Begum Bazaar, Nampally and Maharajgunj wholesale markets.
- 12 cases have been registered against traders for hoarding and overpricing.
The minister said the State has ample rice stocks and asked people not to panic-buy. He urged ration card holders to use the free fine rice from fair-price shops, grown by Telangana farmers and milled in the State.
The government says raids will continue until prices settle and that genuine traders will be supported. It has not said when the cap takes effect or what the penalty is for breaking it.
