In what can be termed as the most 'politically sensitive' decision taken barely a few hours before the results of the 15th Lok Sabha elections, the outgoing government has lifted the ban on trade in wheat futures. It was in February 2007 that the ban - demanded by the Left parties and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav - was enforced. However, the ban on rice futures would still continue.

Informing the ET about the lifting of the ban on Friday, an official of commodity futures market regulator FMC - Forward Markets Commission - said: "The ban on wheat has been lifted, and now the exchanges need to bring their contracts for the commission's approval."

Justifying the decision of lifting the ban, the official said that with the stabilization of the wheat market, India will likely see two uninterrupted seasons of record harvests. Moreover, going by the reports, the futures market does not lead to rise in prices of necessary items like wheat.

According to sources, though the decision of lifting the ban was taken last month by the Consumer Affairs Minister, Sharad Pawar, and was informally communicated to the commodity exchanges, the FMC was instructed to announce the decision only after expiry of the Election Commission's model code of conduct on Thursday. A formal notification to the effect is yet to be issued.