The Food Corporation of India (FCI) spent ₹2.19-lakh crore to buy 765.66 lakh tonnes (lt) of paddy and 262.02 lt of wheat during 2023, which has benefited 125 lakh farmers .
As much as ₹2,19,140 crore have been directly credited into farmers’ bank accounts during 2023, FCI said in a statement.
Commenting on the new initiative, FCI’s chairman and managing director Ashok Meena said that 2023 was a remarkable year in FCI’s efforts to bring about efficiency and effectiveness in its operations. Apart from bringing down the storage and transit losses, though it has been continuing over the last decade, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based grain analyser got introduced.
The grain analyser is poised to enhance transparency and efficiency in evaluating the quality of foodgrains during the procurement process, he explained. This advancement will complement the chemical-based solution introduced in 2021-22 for age assessment of rice, primarily aimed at combating the issue of rice recycling.
Since chemical-based solution was introduced, 1.4 lt of recycled rice was detected and rejected, FCI said. Already GPS, Vehicle Tracking System (VLTS) are in implementation to ensure real time tracking of trucks carrying FCI foodgrains for a real time planning of intake in its godowns, it said.
The quality maintenance of foodgrains is an integral part of FCI’s voluminous operations in which scientific storage and periodical quality control steps play a vital role. “FCI has phased out all forms of scientific open storage done earlier and has added about 100 lt of modern silo storage with the help of public private partnership. With a storage capacity of about 762 lt now, FCI and State agencies store entire wheat and rice stocks in covered scientific godowns/warehouses and silos which are scientifically preserved for quality through qualified professionals adhering to FSSAI standards,” the agency said.
For meeting the requirements of foodgrains in every nook and corner of the country, FCI has transported 450.83 lt on an average distance of 1,200 km ensuring a swift response to the requirements of consuming regions.
FCI has distributed 263 lt of wheat and 411 lt of rice under PMGKAY and other welfare schemes. Besides, to safeguard the interests of consumers against the rising food prices, it has offloaded 55.11 lt of wheat and 1.43 lt of rice in open market through weekly e-auctions.