New Delhi: Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, in order to conspicuously brand foodgrain bags given under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s logo, the Union government is spending Rs 15 crore in five states, The Hindu reported.According to the RTI replies received by activist Ajay Bose, the regional offices of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have finalised tenders in Rajasthan, Sikkim, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya for procuring “woven laminated bags with an indicative logo of PM Modi” to distribute food grains.Moreover, the RTI reply stated that “for West Bengal region, selection of company for production of bags is under process,” as per the report.While the Rajasthan FCI office is spending Rs 13.29 crore for 1.07 crore synthetic bags, for Tripura, Rs 85.51 lakh is being spent on 5.98 lakh Modi-branded bags. The Meghalaya regional office is spending a total amount of Rs 52.75 lakh for 4.22 lakh bags and for Mizoram, Rs 25 lakh is being spent for procuring 1.75-lakh such bags, as per the RTI replies.In Sikkim, the process is pending as bags are still being produced while a private company has been selected for the supply. The FCI is looking to procure 98,000 bags at Rs 14.65 apiece, totalling Rs 14.35 lakh in this eastern state, The Hindu added, as per the replies.The per piece procurement cost of the bags with Modi’s logo is slightly different in each state. While each bag in Sikkim is being bought by the FCI at a cost of Rs 14.65, in Mizoram and Tripura it is at Rs 14.30 apiece, Rs 12.5 per per bag in Meghalaya and Rs 12.375 per bag in Rajasthan.Also read: Pre-Election ‘PM Modi Logos’ on PDS Grain Bags to Cost Crores: ReportAs per an earlier report published in The Hindu, the FCI had directed all of its 26 regional offices to float tenders for procuring woven laminated bags with Modi’s logo for distribution of food grains under the PMGKAY scheme.“During the free grain distribution under PMGKAY that started in 2020 when the pandemic began, unbranded 50 kg jute sacks were used to disburse grain. The branding of bags with faces of political figures has begun in 2024, ahead of the election,” an official in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution told The Hindu.
