Shanta Kumar to head committee setup to suggest restructuring of FCI

The Government appointed Shanta Kumar as the Chairman of a High Level Committee (HLC), set up to recommend restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI). Other members of the committee include Chief Secretaries of Punjab & Chhattisgarh; Prof G Raghuram, Dean, IIM – Ahmedabad; Dr Ashok Gulati, Former Chairman, Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices; Prof Gunmadi Nancharaiah, Dean, School of Economics, University of Hyderabad; and CMD of FCI.
 
The Food Corporation of India is vested with vital responsibilities of the government, such as procurement, management of Central Pool stocks and distribution of foodgrains to state government agencies for various food security programmes. It is commonly perceived that FCI is plagued today with several functional and cost inefficiencies, which need to be removed for efficient management of foodgrains and saving costs.
 
Among other things, the committee will study various models of restructuring or unbundling of and to suggest a best suited model for restructuring or unbundling of FCI to improve its operational efficiency and financial management.