Essential Goods under the Essential Commodities Act

What is Essential Commodities Act?

The Essential Commodities Act (ECA) was enacted by the Central Government in 1955 to control and regulate trade and prices of commodities declared essential under the Act.. It has since been used by the Government to regulate the production, supply and distribution of a whole host of commodities it declares ‘essential’ in order to make them available to consumers at fair prices.

What does the Act deal with?

The Act empowers the Central and state governments concurrently to control production, supply and distribution of certain commodities in view of rising prices. Additionally,the government can also fix the maximum retail price (MRP) of any packaged product that it declares an “essential commodity”. And selling the particular commodities above the limit will attract penalties.

Why is it important?

In the context of a crisis like the current one, the ECA seems to serve a purpose. The Centre can include new commodities as and when the need arises, and take them off the list once the situation improves. For instance, the Union Government on 14 March 2020 brought masks and hand-sanitisers under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to make sure that these products, key for preventing the spread of Covid-19 infection, are available to people at the right price and in the right quality.

What are Essential Goods under the Essential Commodities Act?

The things that were already on the list:

• Fruits & Vegetables Rice, wheat flour, other cereals and pulses
• Sugar and salt, spices and masalas
• Bakery and dairy (milk, milk products)
• Tea and coffee Eggs, meat and fish Food grains, oil, masala and food ingredients
• Packaged food and beverages
• Health supplements, nutraceuticals, food for special dietary use and food for special medical purpose
• Infant/baby food Animal feed/pet
• Food delivery services and e-commerce for above mentioned products
• Cold storage and warehousing of food products
• Fuel such as coal, rice husk, diesel/furnace oil and others necessary to run manufacturing plants and factories
• All raw materials, intermediaries, packaging materials needed to support the above list of products

Things now included in the list:

• Sanitary napkins, Diapers (After a nation-wide outrage from women)
• Soaps and detergents
• Surface cleaners and disinfectants
• Body wash and shampoos
• Tissue papers Toothpaste/ other oral care products
• Battery cells, chargers

What needs to be included in the list?

There are certain goods that may be necessary but are still not included in the Essential Goods Category.

For instance, the work-from-home routine has meant that several bachelors, who relied on food from outside, had to look for utensils. “An induction cooker, or even a pressure cooker, may be an essential for some people.

Besides, with parents working from home and children attending online classes there isan increased necessary demand on laptops, tablets and large-screen phones. Couple who are expecting a baby don’t have any baby clothes to buy in the market which is a big problem. light bulbs and kettles are also not included which could be important at such a time.

There are protests in many states for alcohol to be included in the essential goods. Contraceptives are in demand to be included as essential goods.