Maharashtra govt to sell Baba Ramdev's Patanjali products via E-Seva Centres

The Maharashtra government will now sell Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali products through 'Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendra' which provide citizens all services in one place.

The state government has issued a notification in this regard, and this is the first time where a private company's products will be sold through the government.

'Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendra' provides a host of services related to ration cards, birth certificates, income and domicile certificates, PAN Card, Aadhaar etc.

The development comes after the company announced its foray into e-commerce plans and tied up with Flipkart and Amazon.

Patanjali is the only firm that finds a mention in the list of products/services offered. 

A report also says that in the Government Resolution, Patanjali products are listed as a separate category that citizens can avail through e-seva centres.

The portion of the GR mentioning Patanjali was copied from the guidelines issued by the Centre through its special purpose directives called the common service centre, said Principal Secretary (State Information & Technology) SVR Srinivas.

"It is wrong to assume that Maharashtra government is promoting Patanjali through its network. And the portion you are talking about is not even 0.1% of the entire notification," the officer told Mumbai Mirror.

Last year, Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam had filed a plea against Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurveda, alleging major irregularities in the allotment of over 600 acres land to the company for setting up a food park in Maharshtra's Nagpur.

Nirupam also alleged that while the current market value of the land is at least Rs 100 crore per acre, Ramdev s Patanjali Ayurveda received it at a throwaway price of Rs 25 lakh per acre.

Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh government will also provide products of Baba Ramdev-founded Patanjali at its fair price shops.