Bharat Dal, coming soon to an e-grocer near you

Virtual shelves of online grocers, such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Swiggy, may soon see the debut of an unlikely item: Subsidized dal from the Government of India.

- Dhirendra Kumar

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is expected to mandate e-commerce companies to offer cheaper pulses under the Bharat Dal scheme on their platforms, two people aware of the matter said.

The platforms, also including BigBasket, Blinkit, Zepto and Jio Mart, had earlier committed to retail subsidized pulses but most of them have yet to make the essential commodity available on their websites, limiting the impact of the scheme, the people said on the condition of anonymity.

While quick-commerce companies Blinkit and Zepto have started selling subsidized pulses, that is not enough, the first person said. "All players have to sell it," the person said, "enabling consumers in urban and semi-urban areas to benefit from the scheme."