FCI reform panel wants citizen suggestions by September-end

A public note inviting the suggestions will be published on Sept 9 in all major dailies

In line with the Narendra Modi government's policy of inviting public comments on important policy decisions, a committee constituted to reform the five-decade-old Food Corporation of India (FCI) has decided to get suggestions from experts, stakeholders and the general public.

A public note inviting the suggestions will be published on Tuesday in all major dailies and replies have to be sent by September 30, a senior official said.

He said the committee has also decided to invite private sector firms to make presentations on international best practices in foodgrain management at its meeting a week after.

“The government has fast-tracked its idea of reforming the FCI and from now onwards a meeting of the committee is expected to be held every week,” a senior official said.

The panel is chaired by Shanta Kumar, twice chief minister of Himachal Pradesh and later Union minister in charge of food and public distribution, and then rural development. The government had constituted the committee on August 20, to improve FCI's efficiency and to check food price inflation.

Earlier, there was a suggestion to unbundle the corporation into three separate units, each respectively handling procurement, distribution and storage.

“This (Monday) was our first meeting and we discussed a number of issues at length,” said Shanta Kumar.

Officials said economists and academicians on the panel felt more private participation in storage and distribution of grain needed to be explored.

The meeting was attended by all the members. These comprise FCI chairman C Viswanath; the secretary for electronics & information technology, Ram Sewak Sharma; former head of the Commission on Agricutural Costs & Prices, Ashok Gulati; dean of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, G Raghuram; the dean, school of economics, University of Hyderabad, G Nancharaiah; and Punjab food secretary D S Grewal.

FCI made a presentation on the constraints it faced. Their officials said of the total funds allocated to them, only two per cent, the administrative cost, was under their control. The rest depended on the minimum support price.