The Food Corporation of India (FCI) will invite suggestions from the public and stake-holders on restructuring its key functions with a view to further strengthen and integrate the supply chain of food grains in the country.
The newly-constituted, eight-member High-Level Committee (HLC) mandated with the task of reorienting its minimum support price operations, food storage and security systems met today and discussed ways to earn public responses on the matters in a bid to gear up FCI’s food-grain management and streamline the public distribution system.
Set up by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in August 2014, the committee plans to elicit responses from professionals, academicians, scientists, nongovernment organizations/institutions, self-help groups, cooperatives and farmer associations.
They will also engage in discussions with rice and flour millers, handling and transport contractors, government bodies associated to food management, agriculture, storage, warehousing, supply chain and logistics.
It will also invite suggestions on integration of supply chain of food-grains in the country for the least cost option for moving food-grains, models of scientific storage and upgrading technology in management of food-grains.
At a meeting, the HLC members discussed issues of foodgrain management and steps to increase the efficiency of the committee.
It has decided to look into various areas which are an integral part of the foodgrains management and distribution system.
The watershed move come in the wake of a major effort to alter FCI’s commonly perceived image as a corporation plagued by functional and cost inefficiencies.
The HLC aims to recommend the restructuring of FCI after considering the Public Sector Undertaking’s structure and functional areas in consultation with the stakeholders.
The HLC will now be studying various models of restructuring of FCI operations and suggest better methods to improve efficiency and financial management of FCI.
