FCI Foundation Day: Piyush Goyal Highlights 5 Sutras to make India “A Food Hub”

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) celebrated its 58^th Foundation Day on 14^th January 2022. On this occasion Piyush Goyal, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce & Industry addressed the staff and officers of FCI spread across the country through video conferencing.

Goyal congratulated the entire FCI family on the occasion and said that FCI was founded on this very auspicious day in 1965 at an auspicious place i.e. the city of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu.

Underlining the fact that FCI is the main central agency for execution of food policies of the government, Goyal said that FCI has come a long way in realizing the dream of India being a self-sufficient nation.

Praising, the way FCI has carried out the world’s largest food supply chain system especially during the pandemic to ensure seamless supply of foodgrains under the “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anya Yojana”, Hon’ble Minister has said that FCI has not only become an important organization but also one of the most valuable organisations having stood in testing times.

5 Sutras to make India “A Food Hub”  

• Change the public perception of FCI from being inefficient & corrupt to dynamic, inclusive & honest.

• Focus on integrating end-to-end tech solutions right from   procurement   to   delivery   to   achieve   operational  efficiency  &  leakage  free,   distribution   -  reduce   PDS   response   time, beneficiary tracking etc.

• Establish a grievance redressal mechanism to react rapidly to farmer/Farmer Producer Organisation in distress. Reaching out to farmers through “Jan Jagrukta” programmes at grass-root level to spread awareness.

• Better modern infrastructure, logistics & warehouses as per international standards. Improve storage capacity for the growing need- Power backup, CCTV, robust network facility.

• More emphasis on improving India’s rating in the Global Hunger Index by adding more nutritional value in people’s diet

“These global best practices will make India a ‘Food hub’ in coming years”, Goyal said.

He directed FCI to simplify the processes, free the organization from discretionary power, make a robust testing mechanism of food grains, review sampling techniques & revise as per international standards.

Goyal said, “We keep talking about the green revolution - I & II. But as Honourable Prime Minister said, the goal should be “Evergreen revolution” - Food security is not enough, focus should be on “Nutritional Security”.”