After chana dal, the government has extended the Bharat Dal range to include moong dal and masur dal making them available to consumers at a subsidised price.

Moong procured under the price stabilisation fund (PSF) buffer stock will be converted into moong dal for retail sale to consumers under the Bharat Dal brand at subsidised prices. Masur stock in the PSF buffer will be converted into masur dal and sold to consumers at retail price of ₹89 per kg, the Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, BL Verma, said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The government had launched the Bharat Dal in July 2023 by converting the chana stock procured under the price stabilisation fund into dal for retail sale at a subsidised price of ₹60 per kg in the first phase. About 12.32 lakh tonnes of Bharat chana dal has been sold to retail consumers in the first phase.

In the second phase, an additional quantity of 3 lakh tonnes was allocated to be sold in the form of dal in 1-kg pack at ₹70 per kg and ₹58 kg for chana whole. Under this, about 1.18 lakh tonnes of chana dal and 13,495 tonnes of chana has been sold till March 12 across 26 States and union teritories through 8,939 mobile and 3,051 stationary outlets and 9 major e-commerce platforms.

Bharat Brand dals under Phase –II are distributed by three central co-operative organisations such National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed), Kendriya Bhandar, and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) through their own outlets, mobile vans, e-commerce platforms and big chain retailers.

The assessment of Bharat Chana Dal phase-I has been undertaken by Quality Council of India. To ensure maximum traceability in the distribution of Bharat Dal, agencies are regularly directed to maintain real time distribution photos of Bharat Dal and share the sale progress with the department on daily basis, the Food Ministry said in a statement.