Govt plans to set up committee to look into FCI restructuring

The government is planning to set up a committee to suggest ways to restructure state-run Food Corporation of India to improve the public distribution system (PDS).
The FCI, set up under the Food Corporation Act 1964, is a nodal agency for procurement, storage and distribution of foodgrains to PDS and other welfare schemes.
Sources said that while the Food Ministry has already been asked to suggest a couple of options to unbundle the FCI, a committee will also be set up to look into the issue.
It will explore ways to reduce transportation and distribution losses of foodgrains from the FCI godowns to the PDS. Besides, it will also look into the contract labour issue that may block the government's plan of restructuring FCI, sources said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget 2014-15 speech, had given top priority to restructuring of FCI. He had said: "Government is committed to reforms in the food sector. Restructuring FCI, reducing transportation and distribution losses and efficacy of PDS would be taken up on priority."
The FCI restructuring was one of the promises made by BJP in its manifesto for general elections this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been advocating unbundling of the FCI to bring efficiency in administration and control food inflation.