According to sources, the government has decided to stop price increases by selling grain that has been subsidized through retail outlets as part of the Bharat rice project starting next week. In the coming days, a formal decision to sell rice for Rs 29/kg through retail outlets would be made. The aim is to reduce the mass consumption rice varieties’ retail prices, which have stayed unabatedly high in spite of the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) free market sales and restrictions on some exports. The Bharat rice effort may help bring down prices, as the issue of high rice prices is still a concern, an official told .In spite of a record output, plenty of stocks with FCI in the works, and numerous levies and restrictions placed on grain exports, the official claimed that domestic rice prices are at high levels. Under the Bharat Dal and Bharat Atta programs, the government is currently selling chana dal and atta (flour) at discounted prices of Rs 60/kg and Rs 27.5/kg, respectively. Furthermore, FCI has already sold over 7 million metric tons (MT) of wheat to large buyers through the open market selling program from its excess inventory. According to sources who spoke with FE, organizations like Kendriya Bhandars, National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF), and Farmers’ Cooperative NAFED will first offer 0.45 MT of non-fortified rice stock with the FCI for retail sales. When the FCI offered to sell excess rice on the open market to large purchasers at a subsidized rate of Rs 2900 per quintal—which is less than the economic cost of grain for 2022–2023 of Rs 3,537 per quintal—the reaction was lukewarm.