Food Corporation Of India

Government says foodgrains worth ₹3.2 crore were damaged mainly due to natural calamities, while no losses were reported from inadequate storage in FCI godowns

The government also said no subsidy was extended to ethanol producers, noting that rice was sold at the fixed prices prescribed under the OMSS (Domestic) policy

India's rice stocks hit a record high and wheat inventories reached a five-year peak, boosting food security and giving the government room to manage prices

The Centre has decided to expand its QR tagging initiative for Food Corporation of India (FCI) foodgrain bags, with plans to implement the system across three states -- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha -- in the ongoing marketing season. The plan will cover 20 lakh tonnes of rice moved from milling points to distribution centres. The move, aimed at tracking end-to-end movement of foodgrains and curbing the recycling of grain bags, follows a successful pilot in Andhra Pradesh for rice in December 2025-January 2026, and in Punjab for wheat during April-May 2026. "We are planning to put QR tags on foodgrain bags transported from procurement states to distribution states," a senior Food Ministry official told PTI. "In the ongoing marketing season, we are going to do this in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha for rice." Under the expanded pilot, select districts from each of the three states will be covered. Approximately 10 lakh tonnes of rice will be moved with QR tagging from

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is set to raise short-term debt of Rs 50,000 crore from scheduled banks for a three-month tenure, with a green shoe option to mop up an additional Rs 25,000 crore, a senior government official said on Monday. The funds are being raised to bridge cash flow mismatches arising from procurement and distribution of foodgrains. Tenders submitted in this regard will be opened on May 22. Total borrowings under the tender will not exceed Rs 75,000 crore at any point of time, the official added. The short-term loans will be on an unsecured basis. Notably, the government of India guarantee of Rs 6,000 crore available for food credit to FCI will not be extended to these borrowings. As per the tender terms, offers must remain valid up to August 31, with loan disbursals to be made in tranches in line with FCI's operational requirements. FCI, the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains to ration card holders and beneficiaries

With rice stocks far above buffer norms, India must shift from open-ended MSP procurement to diversified, sustainable agriculture without hurting farmer incomes

India and WFP signed a pact to supply 200,000 tonnes of fortified rice over five years from FCI warehouses to meet humanitarian food and nutrition needs globally

Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Monday called for immediate action to expand the loan facility to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), to improve their financial condition. Reviewing the scheme to build the world's largest cooperative food grain storage network, Shah emphasised the extensive involvement of PACS in the food storage scheme. "It is necessary to make PACS an integral part of this scheme so that the financial viability and social effectiveness of PACS can be ensured," he said. Shah directed the Ministry of Food and Public Distribution and Food Corporation of India (FCI) to conduct national-level mapping of warehouses across the country, so that the implementation of the scheme can be done smoothly as per regional requirements, according to an official statement. The minister also instructed FCI, National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFE

With surplus foodgrain stocks and more wheat arriving, the Centre may allow states to lift and distribute three months' ration quota in advance to prevent a storage crunch

SC gives Centre 3 months to finalise regulations

The decision is aimed at enhancing the operational capabilities of FCI in fulfilling its mandate effectively

The Centre on Tuesday said it has procured 60.63 lakh tonnes of paddy so far in Punjab and it has already made payments of Rs 12,200 crore to farmers in the state as of October 28. In an official statement, the union food ministry said, "as of 28th October 2024, a total quantity of 65.75 lakh tonnes of paddy has arrived in the mandis out of which 60.63 lakh tonnes have been procured by state agencies and Food Corporation of India (FCI)." An amount of Rs 12200 crore has been released to the farmers in Punjab directly to bank accounts as of 28th October, it added. The procurement of paddy in Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25 commenced on October 1, 2024, and 2,927 designated mandis including 1000 temporary yards have been opened throughout Punjab for smooth procurement of paddy. The Centre has fixed an estimated target of 185 lakh tonnes for this ensuing KMS 2024-25. The paddy is being purchased at a MSP (minimum support price) of Rs 2320 per quintal as decided by the Centre for

Rice millers in Punjab have been on a warpath for the last few weeks, refusing to lift paddy from mandis in Punjab and demanding an easing of procurement norms

State-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) plans to install about 23,750 cameras across its 561 depots as it is upgrading to a modern IP-based video surveillance system in the storage depots. The implementation of this new IP-based system will significantly enhance monitoring capabilities through high-resolution imaging, improved scalability, and remote access, the Food Ministry said in a statement. CCTV Cameras installed in the new surveillance system will support onboard analytics features like camera tempering, camera field of view change, camera blur/out of focus, motion detection and trip wire etc. This new surveillance system will feature the establishment of a centralised Command Control Centre (CCC) and a Network Operating Centre (NoC) at FCI headquarters. The health of the installed system will be centrally monitored through the CCC, along with a provision for storing incidental data on-demand basis. It will also offer advanced video analytics and strengthened security ...

Export of white rice allowed at minimum export price of $490 per tonne; export duty on parboiled rice cut from 20% to 10%

States can directly buy rice from the Food Corporation of India at Rs 2,800 per quintal without participating in the e-auction if they need it for their welfare schemes, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday. The Centre last year did not provide rice to states because of apprehensions of lower output in view of poor monsoon rains. Karnataka had demanded rice last year for its welfare scheme but the request was rejected. In June 2023, the Centre discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to state governments. Addressing a press conference here, Joshi said, "States can directly buy rice from central pool at Rs 2800 per quintal. They do not need to participate in the e-auction process." He said there has been no demand so far from any state. According to an official statement, States can purchase rice from Food Corporation of India (FCI) under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) without .

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured 26.6 million tonnes of wheat during the current Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2024-25, surpassing last year's figure of 26.2 million tonnes, the government said on Wednesday. The procurement, which began earlier than usual this year, has benefited more than 2.2 million farmers who received about Rs 61 lakh crore directly in their bank accounts as payment at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), it said in a statement. The government had set the MSP for wheat at Rs 2,275 per quintal for the current season (April-March). States like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan showed significant improvements in their wheat procurement, the statement said. Uttar Pradesh procured 9,31,000 tonnes compared to 2,20,000 tonnes last year, while Rajasthan achieved 12 lakh tonnes, up from 4.38 lakh tonnes in the previous season. In addition to wheat, the government reported that paddy procurement during the 2023-24 Kharif Marketing season exceeded 77.5 million tonnes

The CBI has arrested a general manager of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) posted in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs one lakh for securing a tender relating to transportation of rice, officials said. In addition to arrested General Manager Prem Singh Bhanot, the CBI has also arrested Manager (Accounts) of FCI Sanjoy Dey, Proprietor of M/s SP Traders and Suppliers Pvt Ltd Malina Dey and middleman Syed Hasnain Ahmed, they said. The CBI has alleged that Bhanot "aided and favoured" SP Traders and Suppliers Pvt Ltd in connection with the tender pertaining to 'Transportation of Rice Grain'. "An accused middleman contacted and informed the GM, FCI, that said Proprietor would like to offer him a bribe for having facilitated her in the allotment of work order in tender. The accused GM asked him to inform the Proprietor to give Rs 5 lakh as bribe in lieu of this favour rendered to her," said a CBI spokesperson. The agency carried out a trap operation in which ..

However, trade and industry officials say the world's second-biggest wheat producer won't be able to achieve its procurement target of 30-32 million tons

The government hopes to sell 15 lakh tonnes each of FCI rice and wheat flour (atta) under the 'Bharat' brand in the next 4-5 months, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Thursday. The government is retailing Bharat atta and rice through three agencies -- National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed), National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) and Kendriya Bhandar. The government started retailing of 'Bharat Atta' since November last year, while sale of 'Bharat rice' commenced from February 6 in order to keep prices under check. State-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) is providing the grains to these agencies for retail purposes. Briefing the media, the Secretary said, "after the introduction of Bharata atta, prices are stable in the market... We are thinking as it has an impact on atta, similarly Bharat rice will ensure moderation in prices." Bharat Rice sale quantity is low at present but it will pick up in the coming days, he