FCI rejig: Panel submits report, PM asks for FoodMin views

Narendra Modi has asked the food ministry to expeditiously give its comments on the report so that it can then be implemented in a time-bound manner

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked the food ministry to expeditiously give its comments on the FCI restructuring plan proposed by a high- level committee headed by BJP MP Shanta Kumar.

The eight-member committee, which was set up in August 2014, to recommend restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI) today submitted its report to the Prime Minister.

"The Prime Minister has asked the Department of Food and Public Distribution to expeditiously give its comments on the report so that it can then be implemented in a time-bound manner," an official statement said.

Former chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Ashok Gulati, who is a member of this panel, made the presentation on various recommendations of the report.

Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan was present on the occasion.

The panel was asked to suggest a model for restructuring FCI to improve its operational efficiency and financial management, and suggest measures for overall improvement in management of foodgrains by FCI, the nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains through PDS.

The committee has finalised the report in five months. Initially, it was asked to submit the recommendation in three months, but it sought two-month extension.

Other members of the committee include FCI Chairman-cum- Managing Director C Viswanath and electronic and IT secretary Ram Sewak Sharma.

The chief secretaries of Punjab and Chhattisgarh, besides academicians G Raghuram and Gunmadi Nancharaiah from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad University, respectively, are also part of the committee.