The National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE), which on Tuesday, announced the setting up of a spot exchange for agricultural produce in association with Reliance Money as partner, plans to offer stake in such exchanges to state governments. ?We are open to the idea of offering a stake in such spot exchanges to state governments for better functioning of the exchanges,? Reliance Money director and CEO Sudip Bandopadhyay told FE. Bandopadhyay was inducted as a board member at NMCE. Reliance Money became a partner of the NMCE when it bought a 26% stake in the exchange for around Rs 100 crore.
The NMCE is also in talks with the state governments of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa for launching spot exchanges. It plans to reach out to all the 7,500 agricultural produce marketing committees (APMCs) across the country over the next one year.
Presently, the National Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (National APMC) ? the newly launched spot exchange of NMC?- has started its operations from Gujarat and Rajasthan. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the exchange said that National APMC was hopeful of operationalising the electronic platform for spot trading in agricultural commodities in the later part of 2008. The Gujarat Niyantrit Bazar Sangh, an apex body of more than 200 mandis in Gujarat is a co-promoter of the National APMC.
Besides the Gujarat Niyantrit Bazar Sangh, the National APMC has already received approval from the government of Rajasthan to electronically integrate agricultural mandis in Rajasthan.
The National APMC will provide an online price dissemination and efficient warehouse-based delivery system which will complement the existing efforts in the supply chain management of perishable commodities and reduce wastage. Being a neutral-integrated platform, the exchange will benefit not only individual producers, but also farmer associations, cooperatives, corporate houses and other stakeholders, the statement added.