The government has given its nod to private firms to import another 3.45 lakh tonnes of rice to boost the supply of the staple in the domestic market and contain price spike.

With the move, the food ministry gave permissions to the private sector to import a total of 6.75 lakh tonnes of rice.

If the government's purchase plan is taken into account, the total amount of rice in import pipeline will stand at 10.25 lakh tonnes.  

Earlier, the food ministry permitted 29 firms to buy 3.30 lakh tonnes of rice from international markets.

The latest approval came less than a week after the National Board of Revenue slashed the import duty on rice to 25 per cent from 62.5 per cent in line with the recommendation of the food ministry.

Last week, the government's purchase committee gave consent to a proposal of the Directorate of Food to import 2.50 lakh tonnes of rice. Some 1.50 lakh tonnes of grains will be bought from India under a state-to-state contract.

Importers will have to open the letters of credit within seven days after getting the allotment.

The importers permitted to import 1,000 tonnes to 5,000 tonnes of rice must supply half the allotted amount in 10 days after opening the LCs, and the rest within 20 days.

The firms that received permission to bring in 5,000-10,000 tonnes and more rice will require to import half the approved amount within 15 days after opening of the LCs.

All the agreed amount will have to be released into the market within 30 days, said the food ministry.

The government started buying rice from the international market because of the low progress in procurement of rice and paddy from the current Aman paddy harvesting season amid a lack of interest from farmers and millers, as the market prices were higher than the official rate.

Until January 7, the food office could buy less than 1 per cent of 2 lakh tonnes of paddy purchase target and 5 per cent of 6 lakh tonnes of rice procurement goal, data from the food ministry showed.