AP Govt Prepares to Privatize All Ration Shops, Issues EOI Notification!

The government, which has already decided to hand over the government medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh to private companies under the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model, is now moving forward with another controversial decision. It appears that the state is preparing to hand over all the ration shops in the state to large companies. In this regard, the Andhra Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation has issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) notification. The notification mentions that private companies, retail chains, government corporations/federations, e-commerce companies, and any other interested companies can come forward to modernize and integrate all the fair price shops, i.e., all ration shops, with retail shops. This indicates that the government is preparing to hand over all the ration shops in the state to private entities under the guise of modernization and bringing retail products to the people in the coming days.

                                       It is already well-known that several major companies across the country are conducting multi-billion-dollar businesses with large retail chains. This notification suggests that such companies will also be given control over the ration shops. Interested companies are required to submit their proposals by October 15. The notification also mentions the pilot launch date of the scheme, which is set for November 3. There are suspicions that the coalition government has been executing all its tasks according to a planned agenda over the past period, and now, the privatization of ration shops is likely to be pushed forward with a larger agenda.