If approved, soon over 16,000 fair price shops in Madhya Pradesh may sell Patanjali products.
After a food park and multi-million investments, Madhya Pradesh seems to be the favourite destination of Yoga teacher Ramdev's brand Patanjali.
If approved, soon over 16,000 fair price shops in Madhya Pradesh may sell Patanjali products.
The idea floated by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan aims at turning around the fortunes of these shops selling subsidised ration to the poor.
Talking about the step, Minister of State for Cooperatives (independent charge) Vishwas Sarang said, "We are trying to make shops profitable and employ more people so one of the idea is to tie up with Baba Ramdev and sell Patanjali products in every village."
However, not everyone seems to be happy with the decision.
The opposition Congress has accused the government of blocking free trade, saying the move will give monopoly to a company that will soon start a manufacturing unit in the state.
KK Mishra, Madhya Pradesh Congress Spokesperson told NDTV, "Traders who sell their products at minimum profit will be indirectly pressured to sell the products of a particular company. So government has become a broker. Government has no right to do so."
Fair price shops operate under the Public Distribution System and trade bodies say there's an open tender process that has to be followed.
Ahilya Chamber of Commerce, Indore's President Ramesh Khandelwal said," the government cannot just have the product of one company arbitrarily. Tenders have to be floated where other FMCG companies too can bid. There's a quality standard to be followed and of course the lowest bidder gets it."
There are many fair price shop owners that feel Patanjali products will boost their business but consumers are divided on the idea.
Etesh, a local said, "Selling them (Patanjali prodcuts) at fair price shops will mean even villager will have access to good products."
But then there are those such as Balkrishna who believe, " The state government should check its quality before introducing in shops. I used the Patanjali products and its not up to the mark in terms of quality."