Food Corporation Of India

Cabinet approves infusion of Rs 10,700 crore equity in FCI in FY25

The decision is aimed at enhancing the operational capabilities of FCI in fulfilling its mandate effectively

Centre procures 6.06 mn tonne paddy in Punjab, Rs 12,200 cr paid to farmers

The Centre on Tuesday said it has procured 60.63 lakh tonnes of paddy so far in Punjab and it has already made payments of Rs 12,200 crore to farmers in the state as of October 28. In an official statement, the union food ministry said, "as of 28th October 2024, a total quantity of 65.75 lakh tonnes of paddy has arrived in the mandis out of which 60.63 lakh tonnes have been procured by state agencies and Food Corporation of India (FCI)." An amount of Rs 12200 crore has been released to the farmers in Punjab directly to bank accounts as of 28th October, it added. The procurement of paddy in Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25 commenced on October 1, 2024, and 2,927 designated mandis including 1000 temporary yards have been opened throughout Punjab for smooth procurement of paddy. The Centre has fixed an estimated target of 185 lakh tonnes for this ensuing KMS 2024-25. The paddy is being purchased at a MSP (minimum support price) of Rs 2320 per quintal as decided by the Centre for

Centre rules out state-specific relaxation in paddy procurement norms

Rice millers in Punjab have been on a warpath for the last few weeks, refusing to lift paddy from mandis in Punjab and demanding an easing of procurement norms

FCI to install modern video surveillance system at 561 storage depots

State-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) plans to install about 23,750 cameras across its 561 depots as it is upgrading to a modern IP-based video surveillance system in the storage depots. The implementation of this new IP-based system will significantly enhance monitoring capabilities through high-resolution imaging, improved scalability, and remote access, the Food Ministry said in a statement. CCTV Cameras installed in the new surveillance system will support onboard analytics features like camera tempering, camera field of view change, camera blur/out of focus, motion detection and trip wire etc. This new surveillance system will feature the establishment of a centralised Command Control Centre (CCC) and a Network Operating Centre (NoC) at FCI headquarters. The health of the installed system will be centrally monitored through the CCC, along with a provision for storing incidental data on-demand basis. It will also offer advanced video analytics and strengthened security ...

Centre looks to hit white rice trade sweet spot with weekend moves

Export of white rice allowed at minimum export price of $490 per tonne; export duty on parboiled rice cut from 20% to 10%

States can buy rice from FCI at Rs 2,800 per quintal: Pralhad Joshi

States can directly buy rice from the Food Corporation of India at Rs 2,800 per quintal without participating in the e-auction if they need it for their welfare schemes, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday. The Centre last year did not provide rice to states because of apprehensions of lower output in view of poor monsoon rains. Karnataka had demanded rice last year for its welfare scheme but the request was rejected. In June 2023, the Centre discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to state governments. Addressing a press conference here, Joshi said, "States can directly buy rice from central pool at Rs 2800 per quintal. They do not need to participate in the e-auction process." He said there has been no demand so far from any state. According to an official statement, States can purchase rice from Food Corporation of India (FCI) under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) without .

FCI wheat procurement hits 26.6 mn tonnes, surpassing last year's purchase

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured 26.6 million tonnes of wheat during the current Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2024-25, surpassing last year's figure of 26.2 million tonnes, the government said on Wednesday. The procurement, which began earlier than usual this year, has benefited more than 2.2 million farmers who received about Rs 61 lakh crore directly in their bank accounts as payment at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), it said in a statement. The government had set the MSP for wheat at Rs 2,275 per quintal for the current season (April-March). States like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan showed significant improvements in their wheat procurement, the statement said. Uttar Pradesh procured 9,31,000 tonnes compared to 2,20,000 tonnes last year, while Rajasthan achieved 12 lakh tonnes, up from 4.38 lakh tonnes in the previous season. In addition to wheat, the government reported that paddy procurement during the 2023-24 Kharif Marketing season exceeded 77.5 million tonnes

CBI arrests FCI's General Manager Prem Singh Bhanot in bribery case

The CBI has arrested a general manager of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) posted in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs one lakh for securing a tender relating to transportation of rice, officials said. In addition to arrested General Manager Prem Singh Bhanot, the CBI has also arrested Manager (Accounts) of FCI Sanjoy Dey, Proprietor of M/s SP Traders and Suppliers Pvt Ltd Malina Dey and middleman Syed Hasnain Ahmed, they said. The CBI has alleged that Bhanot "aided and favoured" SP Traders and Suppliers Pvt Ltd in connection with the tender pertaining to 'Transportation of Rice Grain'. "An accused middleman contacted and informed the GM, FCI, that said Proprietor would like to offer him a bribe for having facilitated her in the allotment of work order in tender. The accused GM asked him to inform the Proprietor to give Rs 5 lakh as bribe in lieu of this favour rendered to her," said a CBI spokesperson. The agency carried out a trap operation in which ..

Wheat purchases by govt at 25.4 mn tonnes, 1.5% lower than last year

However, trade and industry officials say the world's second-biggest wheat producer won't be able to achieve its procurement target of 30-32 million tons

Govt hopes to sell 1.5 mn tonnes each of 'Bharat' rice, atta in 4-5 months

The government hopes to sell 15 lakh tonnes each of FCI rice and wheat flour (atta) under the 'Bharat' brand in the next 4-5 months, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Thursday. The government is retailing Bharat atta and rice through three agencies -- National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed), National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) and Kendriya Bhandar. The government started retailing of 'Bharat Atta' since November last year, while sale of 'Bharat rice' commenced from February 6 in order to keep prices under check. State-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) is providing the grains to these agencies for retail purposes. Briefing the media, the Secretary said, "after the introduction of Bharata atta, prices are stable in the market... We are thinking as it has an impact on atta, similarly Bharat rice will ensure moderation in prices." Bharat Rice sale quantity is low at present but it will pick up in the coming days, he

Govt increases authorised capital of FCI from Rs 10K cr to Rs 21K cr

The government has increased the authorised capital of state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) from Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 21,000 crore to enhance the operational capabilities and fulfill its mandate effectively, the Food Ministry said on Saturday. FCI is the central government's nodal agency that undertakes procurement of foodgrains at a minimum support price (MSP) to protect the interest of farmers. It also maintains strategic stocks and distributes the grains under different welfare schemes. "The increase in authorized capital is a significant step towards enhancing the operational capabilities of FCI in fulfilling its mandate effectively," the ministry said in a statement. FCI resorts to cash credit, short-term loan, ways and means etc. to match the gap in the fund requirement. The increase in the authorised capital will reduce the interest burden, decrease the economic cost and ultimately affecting the government subsidy positively, it said. With this infusion of capital, th

ED officers assaulted by TMC leader's loyalists during raid in Bengal

ED officers were on Friday assaulted and their vehicles were damaged allegedly by supporters of TMC leader Sheikh Sajahan when they tried to raid his residence in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district in connection with their probe into the ration distribution scam. The ED officers are conducting raids at 15 places in the state during the day and Sajahan's house is one of them, an officer said. A large number of TMC loyalists first gheraoed the ED officials and the central forces personnel who accompanied them when they reached Sheikh's residence in Sandeshkhali area in the morning and demonstrated before assaulting them and forcing them to leave the area, the officer said. One of the officers suffered head injuries and had to be taken to a hospital, he said. Sajahan is considered to be a close aide of state minister Jyotipriyo Mallick who was arrested in connection with the multi-crore ration distribution scam. "This kind of attack is unprecedented. We have sent a report on Sh

Govt ready to offload extra 2.5 million tonnes of FCI wheat under OMSS

The government is ready to offload additional 2.5 million tonnes of FCI wheat to bulk consumers during January-March 2024, under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS), in order to boost domestic supply and check price rise, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Friday. In May this year, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of grains, was given a mandate to sell wheat from the central pool to bulk consumers through an e-auction under OMSS throughout the fiscal except during procurement period in wheat growing states. Briefing the media, the Food Secretary said so far 4.46 million tonnes has been offloaded by FCI to processors through weekly e-auctions. "This has increased availability of wheat into the open market at affordable prices, benefitting general consumers across the country," Chopra said. Depending on the requirement, the Secretary said "additional 2.5 million tonnes can be offloaded under OMSS during January-Marc

FCI sells 189,000 tonne wheat, 5,000 tonne rice in 15th weekly e-auction

State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) sold 1.89 lakh tonne of wheat and only 5,000 tonne of rice to bulk consumers like flour millers in the 15th weekly e-auction held on Wednesday. Wheat and rice are being sold under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to bulk users to improve the domestic availability and cool down retail prices. According to the food ministry, about 1.89 lakh tonne of wheat was sold in the weekly e-auction held on October 4 against 2.01 lakh tonne offered. However, FCI continued to get lukewarm response for weekly e-auction of rice under OMSS with traders purchasing just 5,000 tonne of grains against 4.87 lakh tonne offered. Wheat and rice were sold to 2,255 bidders during the e-auction. Around 2,447 empanelled buyers participated for both wheat and rice, the ministry said in a statement. The weighted average selling price was Rs 2,185.05 per quintal for fair and average quality (FAQ) wheat against the reserve price of Rs 2,150 per quintal, while the weigh

FCI sells 166,000 tonnes wheat, only 17,000 tonnes rice via 11th e-auction

State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) has sold 1.66 lakh tonnes of wheat and only 17,000 tonnes of rice from the central pool through 11th e-auction last week as part of the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to control retail prices. Last month, the government announced it will offload additional 50 lakh tonnes of wheat and 25 lakh tonnes of rice from the central pool in the open market to bulk buyer to contain cereal prices. The food ministry, in a statement, said in the 11th e-auction held on September 6, a total of 2 lakh tonnes of wheat from 500 depots and 4.89 lakh tonnes of rice from 337 depots were offered from across the country. "In the e-auction, 1.66 lakh tonne of wheat and 0.17 lakh tonne of rice was sold," it said. The weighted average selling price was Rs 2,169.65 per quintal for FAQ (fair and average quality) wheat against the reserve price of Rs 2,150 per quintal pan-India, whereas weighted average selling price of URS (Under Relaxed Specifications) wheat was Rs

Ethanol blending programme may hit supply bottleneck after successful run

Doubts crop in over the viability of achieving 20% ethanol blending

After denying rice to Karnataka, FCI struggles to find bidders in e-auction

Only private entities were eligible to participate in the auction

Govt likely to cut import duty if needed to cool down wheat prices

The maximum intervention that the FCI has undertaken through open market sales in the past few years hasn't been more than 7 mt in a fiscal year

Rice war intensifies in Karnataka, Cong posts letter of commitment by FCI

The development is being seen as a setback to BJP, which had decided to take up protest from July 1 regarding the matter

First e-auction of FCI wheat for pvt buyers under OMSS on June 28

State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) will offload 3-5 lakh tonne of wheat to small private buyers under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) via e-auction that will kick start on June 28, its Chairman and Managing Director Ashok K Meena said on Thursday. Under the OMSS, the government has decided to offload 15 lakh tonne of wheat from the central pool flour millers, private traders, bulk buyers and manufacturers of wheat products till March 2024 to check prices. "We will offer 3-5 lakh tonne of wheat in the first e-auction to be held on June 28. The registration process has already begun," Meena told reporters. The reserve price of wheat has been fixed at Rs 2,150 per quintal for fair and average quality and Rs 2,125 per quintal for under relaxed specifications (URS) variety for pan India up to December 31, he said. In the case of rice, the auction will commence on July 5 and the quantity will be offered as per the requirement. The reserve price of rice has been fixed at Rs 3