The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has launched a plan to release onion reserves from government storage across the country using trains and trucks. The scheme aims to make onions affordable and available in major cities as prices rise during the season.
How the plan works
The government began releasing onions from its Price Stabilization Fund buffer on 24 August 2026. It is using a mixed approach: railway rakes called Kanda Express carry bulk quantities while trucks deliver to smaller towns.
Two Kanda Express trains have already been sent. The first carried 450 metric tonnes from Nashik to Delhi on 27 August 2026, with 140 metric tonnes distributed further to Varanasi, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Amritsar. The second train transported 840 metric tonnes to Chennai on 31 August 2026, to be distributed through Tamil Nadu’s Public Distribution System.
Simultaneously, about 1,000 metric tonnes are being moved by road to 19 major cities: Delhi, Jaipur, Jammu, Dehradun, Shimla, Amritsa, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Guwahati, Lucknow, Varanasi, Patna, Bhojpur, Sharif, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Madurai, Thrissur and Kochi. Over 30 trucks have been deployed for this purpose.
Onions are being sold at retail for Rs 35 per kilogram through NCCF, NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar shops and mobile vans. Around 669 metric tonnes has been sold so far across the country.
The government has also paid Rs 210 crores directly to approximately 3,400 onion farmers to ensure they receive timely payment for their produce.
What this means for you
If you live in one of the 19 cities covered, onions should become easier to find at controlled prices through government retail outlets. Prices in markets where these supplies have arrived, such as Delhi, Varanasi and Amritsa, have already begun to fall. The move is designed to prevent sharp seasonal price spikes that typically hurt household budgets during onion shortage periods.