FCI goes online for stock accounting

Begins using TCS software for daily update of grain movement.

Changing a 46-year-old system, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the public sector grain procurement agency, has decided to go online to make operations more transparent. It has sourced software for a “complete financial package” from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for online entry of arrival and release of foograin. It will help track movement of foodgrain.

This is expected to end delays in decisions due to manual preparation of reports. Sending data through various modes and then analysing these was a problem until now. This is because under the present system, FCI’s area offices provide details of stocks and warehouse occupation manually on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis. Online updates are expected to expedite decisions on storage and releases.

“TCS has provided us a software connecting all our warehouses across the country. This is the first such initiative taken by FCI and was on my priority list,” said FCI Chairman Siraj Hussain.

FCI has started with Maharashtra this month. Area offices in the state are doing 100 per cent online accounting of warehouse stocks and all other financial entries. The sum of way-in and way-out entries in Maharashtra reveal the state government is yet to supply it 121,000 tonnes of rice against paddy procured last year.

Talking about the benefits of online accounting, Hussain said the country should know the exact foodgrain available in the central pool and releases thereon. At present, a decision on release is taken after studying the report by area officers on daila y, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis.

Although the current reporting system will also continue, everyone will be able to know online the stocks available in each FCI godown. The stock positions in different state-owned and private warehouses storing grain on behalf of FCI will also be easily accessible.

“This will increase efficiency and lead to faster decision-making and easier handling of foodgrains stocks. We hope the stock position of FCI’s grain availability will be ready in the first week of April,” Hussain said.

Despite a massive foodgrain stock of 50.30 million tonnes in the central pool as on August 31 this year, FCI is planning to start procurement of rice in full swing from October 1. FCI currently holds 29.90 mt wheat and 20.50 mt rice in various states and its own godowns. Close to 26.20 mt is in FCI warehouses and the other 29.80 mt is stored in the godowns of various states. This is against the mandatory buffer norm of 15 mt as on August 31.

The storage problem can be addressed by either increasing capacity or allocations. The increase in warehousing capacity is a long-term process. Hence, the allocation has been increased substantially in the last two months. The government has allowed additional allocation of wheat at Rs 8.45 per kg and rice at Rs 11.85 per kg.

FCI has also made an allocation of 2.5 mt additional foodgrain for below-poverty-line families at Rs 2 per kg of wheat and Rs 3 of rice. It has also increased allocations for above-poverty-line families at a subsidised rate. If state governments were to lift the allocations made by the government, FCI would not face the storage problem as acutely as we did last year, Hussain said.