Recently FCI declined to take possession of which state’s 1.5 million tonne (mt) of par-boiled rice under the public distribution system?

• With excess stocks of par-boiled rice with the FCI under the public distribution system (PDS), the government declined to take possession of the Telangana government’s demand to lift around 1.5 million tonne (mt) of par-boiled rice under the Central pool. • Annual demand of around 2.8 mt of the par-boiled in the country — mostly consumed in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand–, the corporation had 4 mt of grain stocks as on April 1, 2022. • Shelf-life of par-boiled rice is around 1.5 years. • In a meeting August, 2021, the centre had informed the states that no par boiled rice will be accepted in the central pool from kharif marketing season (June-July) for 2021-22 from any state due to high stock level. • Out of the total procurement of 8.83 mt of par boiled rice by FCI, 4.88 mt of rice procured in Telangana and other key states which contributed to the central pool stocks were Odisha (1.7 mt), Chhattisgarh (1.5 mt) and Andhra Pradesh (0.42 mt).