The Government announced that it would put 1 million tonnes of rice from the state reserves to sale through two auctions on 29 and 30 August. One tender will offer around 750 000 tonnes of rice for human consumption and another 250 000 tonnes for non-food use. The measure follows other auctions held since the start of the year aimed to clear the plentiful reserves of rice, accumulated under the paddy-pledging programme from 2011 to 2014.