The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has suggested relaxing quality norms for wheat procurement in Punjab due to significant damage to the wheat crop caused by unseasonal rains and hailstorms in late March and early April. The state government had previously requested this relaxation on April 9, citing concerns over crop quality. As of now, the FCI has recommended procuring wheat with 80% loss in lustre, 20% shrivelled grains, and 6% damaged grains without imposing any value cuts. This recommendation follows investigations conducted by six teams from the Union Ministry of Food and Public Distribution, which collected nearly 300 samples from 78 mandis across 22 districts. The mandis in Pathankot were not included in this sample collection due to no reported wheat arrivals. On April 12, procurement was halted by Punjab's agencies due to pressure to accept freshly harvested wheat with high moisture content, which does not meet quality standards. The final relaxation of norms will depend on the central teams' report, which has already been submitted to the Union Ministry.