The government on Wednesday approved the sale of chana to states and Union territories at a discounted rate for welfare schemes and also raised the procurement ceiling for tur, urad and masur under the PSS scheme from the existing 25 per cent to 40 per cent.

The states can lift 15 lakh tonnes of chana procured under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilisation Fund at a discount of Rs 8 per kg over the issue price of the sourcing state on firstcome-first-serve basis.

The government will spend Rs 1,200 crore for implementation of this scheme.

The decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

Price support scheme, under the agriculture ministry, is operationalised only when prices of agri-produce fall below the minimum support price.

Commodities under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF), overseen by the food ministry, are bought at market prices.

“The CCEA has approved enhancement of ceiling on the quantity of procurement under PSS from existing 25 per cent to 40 per cent in respect of tur, urad and masur,” an official statement said.

The CCEA also approved the disposal of chana to states and Union Territories at a discounted rate for various welfare schemes from the stock procured under PSS and PSF.