FCI hiring over 11,000 new staff ahead of Food Security Law

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is in the process of hiring more than 11,000 new staff, including hundreds in managerial positions, ahead of the enactment of the Food Security Law.

The FCI will need to meet increased requirements of storage and movement of food grains for the Public Distribution System (PDS) after the passage of the Food Security Bill, which seeks to provide legal entitlement for cheap grains to almost 67 per cent of the Indian population.

"The forthcoming Food Security Law will require massive food grain management in the country," said Devinder Kumar Bhalla, executive director (Personnel), explaining the reason behind the recruitment drive.

The state-run corporation said that through the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) it had advertised for 3,755 vacancies during 2011, out of which nearly 1,700 officials have already joined. That induction procedure is still in progress.

Another 6,545 vacancies were again advertised for which the written examination had concluded through SSC.

FCI has now advertised 460 vacancies in the managerial cadre (Category II), which may be soon followed by advertising of 30 vacancies in the Assistant General Manager-level Category-I posts.

Bhalla said the FCI's stock level was growing along with production level resulting in growing operational requirements to handle the responsibilities. FCI handles stocks of about 800 million tonnes of foodgrains every year.

The FCI is also modernizing its grain storage facilities ahead of the Food Security law.