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The Centre began running dedicated Kanda Express railway rakes of buffer-stock onions from Nashik on 24 August 2026 to cool a sharp price rise.
The national average retail onion price stood at Rs 43.53 per kg on 24 August 2026, about 59% above the Rs 27.37 per kg of a year earlier.
Buffer onions are being sold to consumers at Rs 35 per kg through NCCF and NAFED in the destination cities.
The first rakes were routed to Delhi, Chennai, Madurai, Ernakulam and Guwahati.
Kanda Express began in 2024-25 with 14 rakes carrying about 12,000 tonnes to five cities and scaled to 86 rakes and about 88,000 tonnes across 16 cities in 2025-26.
Scheme introduced: 14 railway rakes carried about 12,000 tonnes of buffer onions to five cities.
Scaled to 86 rakes carrying about 88,000 tonnes to 16 major cities.
Onion buffer procurement for 2026-27 began with a two lakh tonne target, split equally between NAFED and NCCF.
Rakes restarted from Nashik to Delhi, Chennai, Madurai, Ernakulam and Guwahati; released stock sold at Rs 35 per kg.
Procures onion from farmers for the central buffer and sells it in deficit markets
Second central procurement and retail-distribution agency for the onion buffer
Administers the Price Stabilisation Fund and decides buffer size, procurement price and release strategy
Finance market intervention in perishable agri-horticultural commodities to protect both consumers and growers from extreme price swings
Key: Approved on 27 March 2015 as a Central Sector Scheme with a corpus of Rs 500 crore; initially covered onion and potato, with pulses added later
Place price-stabilisation policy with the department that tracks retail prices
Key: Moved from the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare to the Department of Consumer Affairs with effect from 1 April 2016
GS Paper III > Agriculture: issues of buffer stocks and food security; public distribution and price stabilisation
General Awareness > Indian Economy and Current Affairs
General Awareness > Agriculture and food inflation
General Awareness > Schemes and current events
A government-held reserve of a commodity, built when supply is plentiful and released when prices spike, so as to moderate volatility.
A Central Sector Scheme created in March 2015 with a Rs 500 crore corpus to fund market intervention in perishable agri-horticultural commodities.
A full trainload of wagons moved as a single consignment, the standard unit of bulk freight movement on Indian Railways.