FCI reform panel calls for study of decentralised foodgrain procurement system

The second meeting of the high-level committee on restructuring Food Corporation of India (FCI), under the chairmanship of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar, on Monday recommended a thorough study of the decentralised procurement system for foodgrain operational in some states.

Under the system, states purchase and distribute foodgrains through the public distribution system and the FCI foots the bill. According to officials, though the system has been in operation for some years, not many big states have adopted it. Officials said storage firm Adani Logistics had made a presentation to the committee about the scientific storage and bulk transportation.

The committee took stock of the previous studies and reports on reforming FCI, including the one by McKinsey & Company, which had suggested restructuring FCI's debt to reduce the interest burden, refinancing buffer stocks, and optimisation of network by linear chain management of railway network.

The government had constituted a high-level committee to reform the FCI on August 20 with a view to improving its efficiency as well as to check food inflation.