The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited, abbreviated as and known better by its brand name Supplyco, is a

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

-owned company headquartered at

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, India. It acts as the execution arm of the

Department of Food and Civil Supplies The Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department is a department of the Government Secretariat, in the state of Kerala, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries ...

of the Government of Kerala. Founded in 1974, the company serves the purpose of governmental intervention in the retail market to control prices of essential commodities.The Hindu. 'Move to hike Supplyco prices flayed.'
/ref> The corporation runs a chain of retail supermarkets under the brand name Supplyco, and a chain of general store retail outlets under the name

Maveli Stores Maveli Stores is a venture of the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation ( Supplyco). Under the Government programme of market intervention, pulses and spices are purchased and sold to the consumers at subsidised prices fixed by the Government. ...

. The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation better Known as Supplyco is the gateway for the 30 million people of the State of Kerala, assuring the much needed

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

in a substantive style by supplying life's essentials and reaching out to the rural-poor and the urban-rich alike. It was incorporated in 1974 as a fully owned government company, with authorised capital of 150 million, to meet the limited objective of regulating the market price of essential commodities at reasonable prices. The growth of Supplyco over nearly three decades was substantial, and is more expansive than similar organisations in the country. Headquartered in Trivandrum and operating through five regional offices, 14 district depots, 56 ''

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

'' depots and around 1500 retail outlets, it has a work force of more than 4500.

Market intervention

The stated purpose of Supplyco was to regulate the rise in prices of essential commodities in the open market. Under the Government programme of market intervention,

pulses In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

and

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

s are purchased and sold to consumers at subsidised prices fixed by the government. The Government of Kerala aids this operation by giving grants every year. The task has been fulfilled through the network of Maveli Stores, which was named to commemorate the saga of

Mahabali Mahabali (IAST: Mahābalī), also known as Bali, Indrasenan, or Māveli, is a daitya king featured in Hinduism. He is the grandson of Prahlada, and a descendant of the sage Kashyapa. There are many versions of his legend, in ancient texts such ...

, legendary king of Kerala. Now the Maveli Stores has become a prominent name among consumers in the state. Supplyco operates through Maveli Stores and Mobile Maveli Stores, covering almost all ''

panchayath The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

s''. Quality products and subsidised pricing are the twin advantages, which Supplyco extend to the consumer. Supplyco has also undertaken distribution of pulses, spices and other branded products of Civil Supplies Corporation at subsidised prices, through a network of 2000 selected ration shops. Supplyco expanded to

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

petrol bunk A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane and n-butane. LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking e ...

outlets, and

pharmacies Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

. Supplyco also markets its own branded

fast-moving consumer goods Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG), are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, cand ...

, including tea, coffee, milled wheat products, curry powders, iodised salt, bottled drinking water, rice products, coconut oil, spices under the brand name Sabari.

Festival Markets

During festival seasons like

Onam Onam ( ) is an annual Indian harvest festival celebrated predominantly by the Hindus of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. Onam commemorates Vamana ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

, and Ramzan, when the price of essential commodities and vegetables are highly volatile, Supplyco organises Festival Markets at important cities and other centres.

Mid-day Meal Programme

Under the Mid-Day Meal Programme of the Government, Supplyco distributes food items to 2.34 million schoolchildren, This is one of Supplyco's major operations.

Other operations

Supplyco is the sole distributor of levy sugar to the authorised ration dealers in the state. It runs 95 medical outlets in the state, which offers an average 15% discount on all medicines, with over a 25% additional discount for

Below Poverty Line Below Poverty Line is a benchmark used by the government of India to indicate economic disadvantage and to identify individuals and households in need of government assistance and aid. It is determined using various parameters which vary from s ...

families. Supplyco procures

paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An List of ethnic slurs#P, ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird ...

directly from farmers at the

Minimum Support Price The minimum support price (MSP) is an advisory price signal that is part of a larger set of agricultural policies in parts of India. This informal "support" price (as opposed to procurement or issue price) is recommended by the government and ai ...

declared by the Government of Kerala. The procured paddy is handed over to contracted rice mills of Supplyco for milling. The resultant rice is distributed through the Public Distribution System in the state.

References

{{authority control Retail companies of India Government-owned companies of Kerala Supermarkets of India Organisations based in Kochi State agencies of Kerala Economy of Kerala Companies based in Kochi Civil Supplies 1974 establishments in Kerala Retail companies established in 1974