Bengaluru, July 17: Food and Civil Supplies Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan said that there would not be any reduction in the quantity of rice being distributed to the BPL card holders under Anna Bhagya scheme next month.

Speaking to reporters at the Vikasa Soudha here on Tuesday, he said that in the Budget, the Chief Minister had slashed the quantity of rice from 7 kg to 5 kg and promised of giving other items. But during the debate on the Budget, he had said that there would not be any changes in the quantity of rice under the scheme. After the budget, he had met the Chief Minister and urged him not to cut the quantity of rice, but it was left to his discretion to give other items like salt, sugar and Palmolive oil to the beneficiaries.  Even he has noticed the confusion among people regarding the quantity of rice. If it was true, the Chief Minister would have called him and discussed it. But so far, the CM has not discussed anything about it, he clarified.

The department has 280 warehouses in the state. Opposition Leader BS Yeddyurappa had alleged that food grains were rottenning in the warehouses in the state. Now, he was getting all the details about the present condition of the warehouses in the state. Once the department Secretary returned from New Delhi, he, along with him would visit the warehouses to know their condition, the minister said.

Ration stolen: officer suspended

The Minister said that total 1165 quintal rice, 196 quintal wheat and 36 quintal tur dal was stolen from the department warehouse at Nanjangud. Following the incident, Mysuru Deputy Director Rameshwarappa was suspended. Apart from him, depot manager Mylari and computer operator Basavaraju were suspended and registered a case, he said.

Christian community leaders have met him today. Christians were in large number in Udupi, Mangaluru, Chikmagalur and Mysuru region. He would personally visit those districts on August 15 and take stock of the situation to solve their problems, he said.  



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Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.

Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.

Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.