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Explain the Role of Buffer Stock in context of India

Last Updated : 07 Jul, 2023
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A buffer stock is a framework or plan that purchases and stores stocks on the occasion of good gathers to forestall costs falling under an objective reach (or value level), and deliveries stocks during terrible harvests to forestall costs transcending an objective reach (or cost level). Thus, it kills the vacillation underway of a given harvest, so the costs might stay stable.

In the midst of surplus creation, the government obtains the harvests from ranchers through Minimum Support Price (MSP) so the ranchers don’t languish adversely over delivering more. In the midst of shortage, the government delivers the support stocks in a staged way so that the interests of the customers don’t endure, and they can meet their wholesome prerequisites at sensible costs.

Role of Buffer Stock

Role of Buffer Stock

Buffer Stock Policy of India

The idea was presented in the fourth long-term plan (1969-74), and a support load of food grain was to be kept up with by FCI for the Government of India to meet the month-to-month arrival of food grains for supply through PDS (Targeted Public Distribution System, TPDS and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS) to meet crisis circumstances emerging out of startling
catastrophes like harvest disappointment, cataclysmic events, and so on, and for market mediation to expand supply in the event of deficiency creation of food grains, so that, the open market costs get directed.

Food grain loading standards allude to the degree of stock in the focal pool that is adequate to meet the functional necessities of food grains for example for circulation under Targeted Public Circulation System TPDS, Other Welfare Schemes (OWS), and exigencies at any time of time. Prior to this idea was named Buffer Norms and Strategic Reserves. Cushion standards are fixed by CCEA (Cabinet Board on Economic Affairs led by the PM) on a quarterly premise as on the first of April, first of July, first of October, and first of January of each and every monetary year. The cradle standards have been overhauled in January 2015.

Notwithstanding the cradle standards, an essential hold of 30 lakh lots of wheat and 20 lakh lots of rice is likewise kept up. This stock is named Food Grain Stocking Norms. The Buffer standards of food grains in the focal pool have been reexamined in 2015 and the Cabinet Advisory Group on Economic Affairs, CCEA has supported that on the off chance that a load of food grains is more than the updated support standard, the Department of Food and Public Distribution will offload overabundance stock in the homegrown market through an open deal or through trades. In 2015, Government has chosen to make a cradle load of 1.5 lakh lots of heartbeats to control vacillation in their costs. NAFED, SFAC, and FCI will acquire beats for cradle stock. Food stock over the base support standards is treated as ‘Abundance Stock’, and the government can exchange them through trade, open market deals, or extra allotment to states.

Basic Evaluation of Buffer Stocks in India

There are a few issues in working and planning a supportable food mediation framework. From acquirement to appropriation, the framework is dealt with fundamentally by the public authority (despite the fact that all the more as of late some pieces of the planned operations have been given over to private workers for hire, based on delicate sell-offs) and is tormented with failures. A portion of the failures is given beneath:

Unassuming obtainment:

FCI needs to get a lot of grain from the market due to expanding responsibility of the government, and has turned into a purchaser after all other options have run out. For example, in 2016-17, the Government wound up acquiring over 30% of the attractive excess of wheat.

Acquisition Prices have become Support Prices:

Procurement costs that were saved for keeping up with the support stock have essentially turned into the costs for buying whatever sum the rancher makes available for purchase. Thusly in the midst of shortage, ranchers don’t get the benefits and if there should arise an occurrence of overabundance creation, markets can’t work ideally so as to reestablish the harmony between request and supply. Also, the amount bought surpasses the putting away limit of FCI and prompts unreasonable harm to obtained grains.

One Device Serves Numerous Goals:

Using a similar instrument to accomplish the twin goals of guaranteeing gainful cost to ranchers and giving the acquired food grains to the poor at profoundly financed costs makes clashes. By suggestion, this involves a tremendous hole between the price tag and issue cost, and subsequently a bigger sponsorship bill.

Wasteful Inventory of the Executives:

Without a clear focus on the stock level, the entire stock administration arrangement of the FCI becomes wasteful and in this way exorbitant.

To begin with, the FCI’s stock administration strategy has a counter-recurrent person. The government ought to get grain in the midst of bountiful supplies on the lookout and discharge it in the midst of shortage. Be that as it may, the need to address the issues of the TPDS and other food-based government assistance conspires, the public authority does not just keep stocks during an awful yield year (since it anticipates that off-take should be higher than ordinary), it likewise moves forward its obtainment, pushing up costs in an as of now supply-compelled market. 

Wasteful Inventory on the board: Even subsequent to apportioning to the commanded plans and keeping up with holds, an abundance of millions of lots of grain stay in the FCI godowns.

Increasing Expense of Operation:

Under grain, the board, FCI’s principal heads of expenses are obtaining costs, which incorporate the pooled cost of grain and acquisition odds and ends, and appropriation costs (these are costs associated with the allotment and dissemination of grains to different states/UTs under different food-based government assistance plans). To keep up with vital stocks, FCI brings about cushion conveying costs, which incorporate the expense of warehousing, stock upkeep, and so forth and this expense of FCI is designated “yearly pace of cradle conveying cost”. 

Accepted Nationalization of the Grain Market:

With more than 75% of the attractive excess obtained by the public authority, very little grain is accessible for the open market. This lower market supply applies a vertical tension on costs in the open market, killing a large part of the customer helps that the endowment gives. Additionally, the Essential Wares Act, APMC Act, and state government impedances unfavourably influence the cost
the seriousness of Indian grain in the worldwide market.

Expanding hole between per Capita creation and per Capita Accessibility:

Although rice also, wheat creation rose by 29% somewhere in the range between 2000 and 2012, per capita net accessibility of grains went somewhere around 1%. While rising stock levels with the government decrease grain accessibility for utilization, it counters the entire target of support loading. The thought was to acquire grain and appropriate it to the penniless to work on the admittance to and accessibility of grain. In any case, assuming the grain is secured, put away, and not appropriated/delivered when required, then it could, in opposition to the targets of the framework, increment food instability.

Related Links

  1. Why Buffer Stock is created by Government?
  2. Government to provide Food security
  3. Stock of Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Que 1. Why is buffer stock made by the government?

Answer-

A cradle load of food grains is made by the public authority in order to disperse the obtained food grains in the food-shortage regions and among the more unfortunate layers of society at a cost lower than the market cost.

Que 2. How in all actuality do buffer stocks work?

Answer-

A cradle stock is a framework or plan which purchases and stores stocks on the occasion of good gathers to forestall costs falling under an objective reach (or value level), and deliveries stocks during terrible harvests to forestall costs transcending an objective reach (or cost level).

Que 3. What are the advantages of buffer stock?

Answer-

  • Stable costs assist with keeping up with ranchers’ wages.
  • Cost security energizes greater interest in farming.
  • Cultivating can have positive externalities for example helps provincial networks.
  • Target costs assist with forestalling abundance costs for buyers and assist with diminishing food expansion.


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