A pilot project to e-auction wheat under the open market sale scheme (OMSS) would be launched by the Food Corporation of India early next week. Sources told FE that initially the process would be launched in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh.
The e-auction intends to cut down prices of wheat offered under the OMSS by reducing transaction cost. ?The high-level committee has already approved the e-auction and we are working out the documentation prior to the launch of the scheme,? sources said.
The FCI was to launch the e-auction of wheat in Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana in December 2009 on a pilot basis. Subsequently, it was postponed to January 2010 because of time constraints. The FCI is expected to use the platform of NCDEX Spot Exchange and National Spot Exchange for electronic auction of wheat under the OMSS.
The FCI initially intends to sell 0.5 million tonne of the wheat through e-auction on a pilot basis. The volume could go up to 1.5 million tonne depending on the response.