New Delhi, August 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Central government will begin selling onions directly to consumers at a subsidised price of Rs 35 per kg in the national capital from Thursday as it steps in to contain a sharp rise in retail prices.
Onion prices in Delhi are currently hovering around Rs 55-60 per kg. The government intervention will use its 2026 buffer stock and the Price Stabilisation Fund to increase supplies and ease pressure on consumers, a senior official said.
Retail sales will be undertaken through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed), National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and Kendriya Bhandar outlets.
NCCF, which holds a buffer stock of 62,000 tonnes, is transporting 400 tonnes of onions from Nashik in Maharashtra to Delhi. The consignment, being transported through the specially operated “Kanda Express”, is scheduled to reach the capital on Thursday.
The cooperative will sell the onions through 100 Kendriya Bhandar stores and plans to expand distribution through Mother Dairy outlets in the Delhi-NCR region.
Nafed, which is maintaining a buffer stock of less than 55,000 tonnes, will also undertake retail sales in Delhi and other centres, including Kochi and Guwahati. Its first consignment of 800 tonnes has already left Nashik for Delhi.
Special freight trains carrying onions are also being deployed to supply Chennai, Ernakulam, Madurai and Guwahati.
Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government plans to extend the subsidised onion sales to Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Raipur in the coming days.
The Centre’s intervention has already had an impact in Maharashtra’s major onion wholesale markets. Prices in Nashik and Lasalgaon began declining after the government announced the measures, with officials attributing part of the earlier price surge to inflationary expectations.
The move follows a significant increase in onion prices over the past month. The all-India average retail price rose more than 28 per cent to Rs 44.72 per kg on August 25 from Rs 34.80 per kg on July 25. Compared with the same period last year, when onions averaged Rs 28.67 per kg, the retail price has increased by around 56 per cent.
The Centre is releasing onions from a buffer stock of 1.21 lakh tonnes maintained across producing states as part of its efforts to stabilise prices and improve availability.
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