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New Delhi, January 14, 2024: Food Corporation of India should emerge as a trusted partner of farmers and people of the country, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal said.
Addressing the 60th Foundation of FCI here today Goyal said FCI plays a crucial role in facilitating flagship schemes like Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) by providing ration to beneficiaries in every corner of the country.
However, he emphasised that the role of FCI is not only to deliver ration, but also to instil confidence in farmers and beneficiaries by bringing transparency, efficiency and accountability.
The Union Minister said the Prime Minister has promised to make India Corruption Free. To ensure this promise of Viksit Bharat, he called upon youngsters and staff of FCI to bring transparency and become whistle-blower.
Talking about the second area of priority, Goyal said FCI needs to embrace digitization and technology by bringing quality. He said quality can be achieved in areas like inspection, procurement, transportation, distribution and storage.
He also suggested to reduce operational costs through route optimization, mechanised loading/unloading, innovative storage solutions and others.
FCI’s Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) operations have also proved to be an effective tool in moderating the prices of essential commodities like wheat and rice to benefit consumers, Goyal said added that Bharat Atta, Bharat Dal, interventions regarding Onion and Tomato has assisted the India Government in price stabilization.
FCI has provided fair value of farmer’s produce and ensured no farmer should take up distress sale, the Minister said. He further added FCI has now entered the modern era operations, adopting digitization, streamlining the procurement process, setting up state-of- the-art laboratories and equipment, streamlining food grains procurement, construction of steel silos for better storage, installing CCTV cameras for better monitoring thereby, bettering infrastructure.
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Sanjeev Chopra, Secretary Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ashok KK Meena, Chairman & Managing Director (C&MD) FCI and other officers and staff were present in the event.
