Kurukshetra Magazine February 2024 - 2 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


19 Kurukshetra       February  2024
* Ashok KK Meena
** Chandrasen Kumar
* The author is Chairman and Managing Director of FCI. Email: chairman.fci@gov.in 
** The author is Deputy General Manager in FCI and Fellow at Management Development Institute, Gurugram. 
Email: chandrasen.kumar@gov.in
Institutionalised Management  Institutionalised Management  
of Food Security of Food Security
FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and 
Transportation of Food Grains Transportation of Food Grains
t present, the projected population
1
 
of India is about 1.40 billion, which 
constitutes about 17.5% of the 
global headcount of 8 billion.
2
 The 
Government of India distributes free 
food grains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann 
Yojana (PMGKAY) to about 81.35 crore people
3
 across 
the country, identified as per the guidelines contained 
in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. While 
8.93 crore people (in families with an average size of 
3.76 persons) are covered under the Antodaya Anna 
Yojana (AAY) and given 35 kg of free food grains per 
family per month, irrespective of the number of 
persons in a family, Priority Household (PHH) people, 
A
India runs the world’s largest 
food security management system, not 
only in terms of number of people who benefit directly but 
also in terms of volume of operations and vastness of the related 
supply chain. While safe storage of food is the most important 
requirement to run this complex system, transportation from 
surplus regions to deficit regions and eventual distribution among 
a large number of beneficiaries and institutions are equally 
important features. The nodal institution managing this 
herculean task is Food Corporation of India (FCI), 
a Government of India undertaking. This article 
brings out the contemporary status of the food 
storage infrastructure required for food security 
management, along with the related supply chain 
of transportation and distribution of food grains 
across the country.
Page 2


19 Kurukshetra       February  2024
* Ashok KK Meena
** Chandrasen Kumar
* The author is Chairman and Managing Director of FCI. Email: chairman.fci@gov.in 
** The author is Deputy General Manager in FCI and Fellow at Management Development Institute, Gurugram. 
Email: chandrasen.kumar@gov.in
Institutionalised Management  Institutionalised Management  
of Food Security of Food Security
FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and 
Transportation of Food Grains Transportation of Food Grains
t present, the projected population
1
 
of India is about 1.40 billion, which 
constitutes about 17.5% of the 
global headcount of 8 billion.
2
 The 
Government of India distributes free 
food grains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann 
Yojana (PMGKAY) to about 81.35 crore people
3
 across 
the country, identified as per the guidelines contained 
in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. While 
8.93 crore people (in families with an average size of 
3.76 persons) are covered under the Antodaya Anna 
Yojana (AAY) and given 35 kg of free food grains per 
family per month, irrespective of the number of 
persons in a family, Priority Household (PHH) people, 
A
India runs the world’s largest 
food security management system, not 
only in terms of number of people who benefit directly but 
also in terms of volume of operations and vastness of the related 
supply chain. While safe storage of food is the most important 
requirement to run this complex system, transportation from 
surplus regions to deficit regions and eventual distribution among 
a large number of beneficiaries and institutions are equally 
important features. The nodal institution managing this 
herculean task is Food Corporation of India (FCI), 
a Government of India undertaking. This article 
brings out the contemporary status of the food 
storage infrastructure required for food security 
management, along with the related supply chain 
of transportation and distribution of food grains 
across the country.
Kurukshetra       February  2024 20
i.e., remaining 72.42 crore people are given 5 kg of food 
grains per person, per month. Apart from PMGKAY , the 
Government also runs some other welfare schemes 
(OWS) like ICDS, PM-POSHAN, Annapurna, hostels, 
welfare institutions, etc. The total requirement of food 
grains to run all these schemes is about 610 lakh MT.  
At the time FCI was established on 14 January 1965, 
India was a food-deficit nation that often imported food 
grains from other nations, particularly from United 
States of America (USA) under PL-480 agreements. The 
‘Short Tether Policy’ of the then USA President Lyndon 
B Johnson to tighten food supply to India under PL-480 
through short-term approvals of shipments brought India 
into a ‘Ship-to-Mouth’ situation. It was also the greatest 
challenge that undermined India’s sovereign standing.
During this era India launched ‘Green Revolution’ 
to augment food production with the use of high 
yielding verities of seeds and deployment of 
technology in agriculture. The success of Green 
Revolution required constant support to farmers 
by way of guaranteeing returns so that food grain 
production could become viable and profitable 
enough for cyclic investment. This task was performed 
quite well by FCI. MSP purchase by FCI and allied state 
government agencies, particularly wheat and paddy 
is known as central pool procurement and led to 
constant increase in production (Chart – 1). In fact, 
during 2023 Government purchased about 760 lakh 
MT of wheat and rice from about 1.25 crore farmers 
and has directly credited Rs. 2,19,140 crore into their 
bank accounts.
Chart-2: Rising procurement and share of total production of rice and 
wheat during 1965-2022.
Chart-1: Impact of Support Prices in production of wheat and rice during 1965-2022.
Trend of Production of Rice and Wheat vis-a-vis MSP of Paddy and Wheat
The continued procurement from 
farmers encouraged them to produce 
more, due to which procurement 
share of the total production also 
started rising (Chart – 2). India soon 
became self-sufficient and even food 
surplus. Our dependence on imports 
declined, and within a span of six years, 
Indian Government decided to cancel 
imports from USA even before PL-480 
agreements had expired. The food 
situation intermittently passed through 
some stress due to floods and droughts 
but largely remained manageable due 
Page 3


19 Kurukshetra       February  2024
* Ashok KK Meena
** Chandrasen Kumar
* The author is Chairman and Managing Director of FCI. Email: chairman.fci@gov.in 
** The author is Deputy General Manager in FCI and Fellow at Management Development Institute, Gurugram. 
Email: chandrasen.kumar@gov.in
Institutionalised Management  Institutionalised Management  
of Food Security of Food Security
FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and 
Transportation of Food Grains Transportation of Food Grains
t present, the projected population
1
 
of India is about 1.40 billion, which 
constitutes about 17.5% of the 
global headcount of 8 billion.
2
 The 
Government of India distributes free 
food grains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann 
Yojana (PMGKAY) to about 81.35 crore people
3
 across 
the country, identified as per the guidelines contained 
in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. While 
8.93 crore people (in families with an average size of 
3.76 persons) are covered under the Antodaya Anna 
Yojana (AAY) and given 35 kg of free food grains per 
family per month, irrespective of the number of 
persons in a family, Priority Household (PHH) people, 
A
India runs the world’s largest 
food security management system, not 
only in terms of number of people who benefit directly but 
also in terms of volume of operations and vastness of the related 
supply chain. While safe storage of food is the most important 
requirement to run this complex system, transportation from 
surplus regions to deficit regions and eventual distribution among 
a large number of beneficiaries and institutions are equally 
important features. The nodal institution managing this 
herculean task is Food Corporation of India (FCI), 
a Government of India undertaking. This article 
brings out the contemporary status of the food 
storage infrastructure required for food security 
management, along with the related supply chain 
of transportation and distribution of food grains 
across the country.
Kurukshetra       February  2024 20
i.e., remaining 72.42 crore people are given 5 kg of food 
grains per person, per month. Apart from PMGKAY , the 
Government also runs some other welfare schemes 
(OWS) like ICDS, PM-POSHAN, Annapurna, hostels, 
welfare institutions, etc. The total requirement of food 
grains to run all these schemes is about 610 lakh MT.  
At the time FCI was established on 14 January 1965, 
India was a food-deficit nation that often imported food 
grains from other nations, particularly from United 
States of America (USA) under PL-480 agreements. The 
‘Short Tether Policy’ of the then USA President Lyndon 
B Johnson to tighten food supply to India under PL-480 
through short-term approvals of shipments brought India 
into a ‘Ship-to-Mouth’ situation. It was also the greatest 
challenge that undermined India’s sovereign standing.
During this era India launched ‘Green Revolution’ 
to augment food production with the use of high 
yielding verities of seeds and deployment of 
technology in agriculture. The success of Green 
Revolution required constant support to farmers 
by way of guaranteeing returns so that food grain 
production could become viable and profitable 
enough for cyclic investment. This task was performed 
quite well by FCI. MSP purchase by FCI and allied state 
government agencies, particularly wheat and paddy 
is known as central pool procurement and led to 
constant increase in production (Chart – 1). In fact, 
during 2023 Government purchased about 760 lakh 
MT of wheat and rice from about 1.25 crore farmers 
and has directly credited Rs. 2,19,140 crore into their 
bank accounts.
Chart-2: Rising procurement and share of total production of rice and 
wheat during 1965-2022.
Chart-1: Impact of Support Prices in production of wheat and rice during 1965-2022.
Trend of Production of Rice and Wheat vis-a-vis MSP of Paddy and Wheat
The continued procurement from 
farmers encouraged them to produce 
more, due to which procurement 
share of the total production also 
started rising (Chart – 2). India soon 
became self-sufficient and even food 
surplus. Our dependence on imports 
declined, and within a span of six years, 
Indian Government decided to cancel 
imports from USA even before PL-480 
agreements had expired. The food 
situation intermittently passed through 
some stress due to floods and droughts 
but largely remained manageable due 
21 Kurukshetra       February  2024
to the institutionalised structure of operations led by 
FCI. 
This long institutionalised journey had started 
with four mandates given to FCI. They included: 
a)  To provide remunerative prices to the farmers, 
b)   To provide food grains to vulnerable sections of 
the society at affordable prices, 
c)   To maintain buffer stock reserves for exigencies, 
and 
d)  To intervene in market for price stabilisation. 
In order to achieve these mandates, FCI had to 
constantly enhance its operations, particularly storage, 
transportation, and distribution of food grains.
Storage Operations for Food Grains in Central 
Pool
For any agricultural produce and its value-added 
products, it is important that they are stored properly 
for preservation of their qualities, future usage, and 
consumption. Thus, storage forms a very important 
aspect of food security operations not only for regular 
consumption during  every cycle of production but also 
for maintaining buffer reserves for use during exigencies. 
Food grains like wheat and rice with low-moisture 
and low pH activity fall under the non-perishable 
category and can be stored for a longer duration of 1 
to 4 years. While wheat, after procurement, is bagged 
and stored in godowns as well as in bulk form (loose, 
unpacked grains) in silos, paddy, after procurement 
from farmers, is milled into rice and then stored in 
godowns in bagged form. 
Conventional Godowns
The functional requirement of bagged wheat and 
rice storage are a quality conventional storage structure 
(warehouse/godown) along with management practices 
to provide protection against all possible causes of 
damages during storage. FCI’s storage structure has 
following features: 
a) Robust to withstand environmental stresses for 
long time, less maintenance cost.
b) Able to prevent entry of rodents, birds, and other 
animals.
c) Walls, floor, and roof must be damp proof and 
prevent entry of rainwater.
d) Provision for aeration to maintain uniform 
temperature and relative humidity as far as 
possible, sampling for observing insect pest 
incidence, pesticides application, and fumigation. 
e) Properly located and connected with roads with 
sufficient space for entry and exit of trucks. 
Locations near the kilns, flourmills, garbage 
dumps, tanneries, slaughterhouses, and chemical 
industries have to be avoided.  
Thus, a typical conventional godown may have 
following dimensions depending on capacity:
Godown 
type
Approx. 
Capacity 
(Tonnes)
Internal dimensions (m)
Length 
(m)
Width 
(m)
Height 
(m)
Small 1120 100 12 7.5
2700 250 20 9
5400 500 34 12
10500 1000 35.5 18
28510 2500 97.19 14.48
Large 57020 5000 129.74 21.34
(Note: for storage capacity above 2500 MT, godowns are divided 
in suitable compartments)
Major engineering requirements of such a 
warehouse/godown (Fig. 1) are as follows:
• Suitable foundation, damp proof, and rigid floor 
free from cracks and crevices.
• Plinth at 80 cm above the ground level for truck 
loading and 1060 mm for the rail. 
• Platform width of 183 cm for road-fed and 244 cm 
for rail-fed with slope 1:40 (minimum).
• 23 cm thick longitudinal walls of brick/stone 
masonry up to 5.6 m height from the plinth. 
• Steel ventilators of opening 1494×594 mm2 placed 
near the top on the longitudinal walls. 
• Air inlets steel ventilator of 620×620 mm2 placed 
at 600 mm above the floor level. 
• Suitable number of steel ventilators glazed with 
fixed wire-mesh on the gable walls.
Page 4


19 Kurukshetra       February  2024
* Ashok KK Meena
** Chandrasen Kumar
* The author is Chairman and Managing Director of FCI. Email: chairman.fci@gov.in 
** The author is Deputy General Manager in FCI and Fellow at Management Development Institute, Gurugram. 
Email: chandrasen.kumar@gov.in
Institutionalised Management  Institutionalised Management  
of Food Security of Food Security
FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and 
Transportation of Food Grains Transportation of Food Grains
t present, the projected population
1
 
of India is about 1.40 billion, which 
constitutes about 17.5% of the 
global headcount of 8 billion.
2
 The 
Government of India distributes free 
food grains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann 
Yojana (PMGKAY) to about 81.35 crore people
3
 across 
the country, identified as per the guidelines contained 
in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. While 
8.93 crore people (in families with an average size of 
3.76 persons) are covered under the Antodaya Anna 
Yojana (AAY) and given 35 kg of free food grains per 
family per month, irrespective of the number of 
persons in a family, Priority Household (PHH) people, 
A
India runs the world’s largest 
food security management system, not 
only in terms of number of people who benefit directly but 
also in terms of volume of operations and vastness of the related 
supply chain. While safe storage of food is the most important 
requirement to run this complex system, transportation from 
surplus regions to deficit regions and eventual distribution among 
a large number of beneficiaries and institutions are equally 
important features. The nodal institution managing this 
herculean task is Food Corporation of India (FCI), 
a Government of India undertaking. This article 
brings out the contemporary status of the food 
storage infrastructure required for food security 
management, along with the related supply chain 
of transportation and distribution of food grains 
across the country.
Kurukshetra       February  2024 20
i.e., remaining 72.42 crore people are given 5 kg of food 
grains per person, per month. Apart from PMGKAY , the 
Government also runs some other welfare schemes 
(OWS) like ICDS, PM-POSHAN, Annapurna, hostels, 
welfare institutions, etc. The total requirement of food 
grains to run all these schemes is about 610 lakh MT.  
At the time FCI was established on 14 January 1965, 
India was a food-deficit nation that often imported food 
grains from other nations, particularly from United 
States of America (USA) under PL-480 agreements. The 
‘Short Tether Policy’ of the then USA President Lyndon 
B Johnson to tighten food supply to India under PL-480 
through short-term approvals of shipments brought India 
into a ‘Ship-to-Mouth’ situation. It was also the greatest 
challenge that undermined India’s sovereign standing.
During this era India launched ‘Green Revolution’ 
to augment food production with the use of high 
yielding verities of seeds and deployment of 
technology in agriculture. The success of Green 
Revolution required constant support to farmers 
by way of guaranteeing returns so that food grain 
production could become viable and profitable 
enough for cyclic investment. This task was performed 
quite well by FCI. MSP purchase by FCI and allied state 
government agencies, particularly wheat and paddy 
is known as central pool procurement and led to 
constant increase in production (Chart – 1). In fact, 
during 2023 Government purchased about 760 lakh 
MT of wheat and rice from about 1.25 crore farmers 
and has directly credited Rs. 2,19,140 crore into their 
bank accounts.
Chart-2: Rising procurement and share of total production of rice and 
wheat during 1965-2022.
Chart-1: Impact of Support Prices in production of wheat and rice during 1965-2022.
Trend of Production of Rice and Wheat vis-a-vis MSP of Paddy and Wheat
The continued procurement from 
farmers encouraged them to produce 
more, due to which procurement 
share of the total production also 
started rising (Chart – 2). India soon 
became self-sufficient and even food 
surplus. Our dependence on imports 
declined, and within a span of six years, 
Indian Government decided to cancel 
imports from USA even before PL-480 
agreements had expired. The food 
situation intermittently passed through 
some stress due to floods and droughts 
but largely remained manageable due 
21 Kurukshetra       February  2024
to the institutionalised structure of operations led by 
FCI. 
This long institutionalised journey had started 
with four mandates given to FCI. They included: 
a)  To provide remunerative prices to the farmers, 
b)   To provide food grains to vulnerable sections of 
the society at affordable prices, 
c)   To maintain buffer stock reserves for exigencies, 
and 
d)  To intervene in market for price stabilisation. 
In order to achieve these mandates, FCI had to 
constantly enhance its operations, particularly storage, 
transportation, and distribution of food grains.
Storage Operations for Food Grains in Central 
Pool
For any agricultural produce and its value-added 
products, it is important that they are stored properly 
for preservation of their qualities, future usage, and 
consumption. Thus, storage forms a very important 
aspect of food security operations not only for regular 
consumption during  every cycle of production but also 
for maintaining buffer reserves for use during exigencies. 
Food grains like wheat and rice with low-moisture 
and low pH activity fall under the non-perishable 
category and can be stored for a longer duration of 1 
to 4 years. While wheat, after procurement, is bagged 
and stored in godowns as well as in bulk form (loose, 
unpacked grains) in silos, paddy, after procurement 
from farmers, is milled into rice and then stored in 
godowns in bagged form. 
Conventional Godowns
The functional requirement of bagged wheat and 
rice storage are a quality conventional storage structure 
(warehouse/godown) along with management practices 
to provide protection against all possible causes of 
damages during storage. FCI’s storage structure has 
following features: 
a) Robust to withstand environmental stresses for 
long time, less maintenance cost.
b) Able to prevent entry of rodents, birds, and other 
animals.
c) Walls, floor, and roof must be damp proof and 
prevent entry of rainwater.
d) Provision for aeration to maintain uniform 
temperature and relative humidity as far as 
possible, sampling for observing insect pest 
incidence, pesticides application, and fumigation. 
e) Properly located and connected with roads with 
sufficient space for entry and exit of trucks. 
Locations near the kilns, flourmills, garbage 
dumps, tanneries, slaughterhouses, and chemical 
industries have to be avoided.  
Thus, a typical conventional godown may have 
following dimensions depending on capacity:
Godown 
type
Approx. 
Capacity 
(Tonnes)
Internal dimensions (m)
Length 
(m)
Width 
(m)
Height 
(m)
Small 1120 100 12 7.5
2700 250 20 9
5400 500 34 12
10500 1000 35.5 18
28510 2500 97.19 14.48
Large 57020 5000 129.74 21.34
(Note: for storage capacity above 2500 MT, godowns are divided 
in suitable compartments)
Major engineering requirements of such a 
warehouse/godown (Fig. 1) are as follows:
• Suitable foundation, damp proof, and rigid floor 
free from cracks and crevices.
• Plinth at 80 cm above the ground level for truck 
loading and 1060 mm for the rail. 
• Platform width of 183 cm for road-fed and 244 cm 
for rail-fed with slope 1:40 (minimum).
• 23 cm thick longitudinal walls of brick/stone 
masonry up to 5.6 m height from the plinth. 
• Steel ventilators of opening 1494×594 mm2 placed 
near the top on the longitudinal walls. 
• Air inlets steel ventilator of 620×620 mm2 placed 
at 600 mm above the floor level. 
• Suitable number of steel ventilators glazed with 
fixed wire-mesh on the gable walls.
Kurukshetra       February  2024 22
The main disadvantages of CAP are that the 
fumigation is not very effective and the covers are 
damaged at times of high wind and rain, bird attack, 
monkey attack, etc., which make food grains vulnerable. For 
these reasons, FCI has phased out CAP storage since 2022.
Bulk Storage - Silos
Silo is a relatively modern technique of storage 
consisting of a vertical container used for storing 
food grains and other granular materials in loose and 
bulk form. Bins and silos of varying capacities, along 
with bulk handling, aeration, and fumigation systems, 
are very popular worldwide for grain storage (Fig. 3). 
These structures are made of masonry, reinforced 
concrete, or metals (plain or corrugated), with a conical 
hopper or flat bottom. In hopper-bottom bins, the 
grains flow under gravity and do not deposit in the bin 
while unloading (self-cleaning system), and shovelling 
equipment is not required.
Fig. 2: An earlier view of phased out CAP storage
• Single span structural steel or tubular trusses for 
roof.
• Cantilever trusses are fixed on to RCC columns at 
4000 mm height. 
Fig. 3: Concrete silos at FCI, Mayapuri, New Delhi, and 
Commercial hopper bottom storage silos
Modern silos have facilities for temperature 
recording and monitoring at different grain depths. 
Temperature gradients in metal silos are high in 
comparison to wood or concrete bins due to the high 
thermal conductivity of the metals, which causes 
more moisture transfers inside the silo. Spout lines 
are also a concern in bulk storages when uncleaned 
grain is stored. During filling of the bin, fine particles, 
admixtures, and small grains usually concentrate at 
the center of a heap, whereas wholegrains flow away 
towards the periphery. This core of high-dockage in the 
center of the pile is known as the spout line. It acts as 
a source of heat development and pest propagation 
CAP (Covered and Plinth) Storage: A Phased Out 
Method in FCI
A low-cost and short-term storage facility for wheat 
was in use earlier, particularly at the time of harvest in 
major wheat procuring states due to a lack of covered 
storage space. Bags are stacked on a wooden frame 
(dunnage) placed on a raised platform (plinth), and the 
lot is covered with 800-1000-gauge thick polyethylene 
sheets (Fig. 2). This storage method is known as cover 
and plinth (CAP) and is common for the storage of 
wheat and paddy at present in India. 
Fig. 1: A typical bag storage structure with stacking floor plan
The CAP storage site should be at a higher elevation 
than adjoining areas and away from drainage, canals, 
and flood-prone areas to prevent flooding. Normally, 
the plinth is made with brick and mortar, which is 
at least 150 mm above ground level. Anti-termite 
treatment is essential to avoid termite attacks. 
Page 5


19 Kurukshetra       February  2024
* Ashok KK Meena
** Chandrasen Kumar
* The author is Chairman and Managing Director of FCI. Email: chairman.fci@gov.in 
** The author is Deputy General Manager in FCI and Fellow at Management Development Institute, Gurugram. 
Email: chandrasen.kumar@gov.in
Institutionalised Management  Institutionalised Management  
of Food Security of Food Security
FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and FCI’s Role in Safe Storage, Distribution and 
Transportation of Food Grains Transportation of Food Grains
t present, the projected population
1
 
of India is about 1.40 billion, which 
constitutes about 17.5% of the 
global headcount of 8 billion.
2
 The 
Government of India distributes free 
food grains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann 
Yojana (PMGKAY) to about 81.35 crore people
3
 across 
the country, identified as per the guidelines contained 
in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. While 
8.93 crore people (in families with an average size of 
3.76 persons) are covered under the Antodaya Anna 
Yojana (AAY) and given 35 kg of free food grains per 
family per month, irrespective of the number of 
persons in a family, Priority Household (PHH) people, 
A
India runs the world’s largest 
food security management system, not 
only in terms of number of people who benefit directly but 
also in terms of volume of operations and vastness of the related 
supply chain. While safe storage of food is the most important 
requirement to run this complex system, transportation from 
surplus regions to deficit regions and eventual distribution among 
a large number of beneficiaries and institutions are equally 
important features. The nodal institution managing this 
herculean task is Food Corporation of India (FCI), 
a Government of India undertaking. This article 
brings out the contemporary status of the food 
storage infrastructure required for food security 
management, along with the related supply chain 
of transportation and distribution of food grains 
across the country.
Kurukshetra       February  2024 20
i.e., remaining 72.42 crore people are given 5 kg of food 
grains per person, per month. Apart from PMGKAY , the 
Government also runs some other welfare schemes 
(OWS) like ICDS, PM-POSHAN, Annapurna, hostels, 
welfare institutions, etc. The total requirement of food 
grains to run all these schemes is about 610 lakh MT.  
At the time FCI was established on 14 January 1965, 
India was a food-deficit nation that often imported food 
grains from other nations, particularly from United 
States of America (USA) under PL-480 agreements. The 
‘Short Tether Policy’ of the then USA President Lyndon 
B Johnson to tighten food supply to India under PL-480 
through short-term approvals of shipments brought India 
into a ‘Ship-to-Mouth’ situation. It was also the greatest 
challenge that undermined India’s sovereign standing.
During this era India launched ‘Green Revolution’ 
to augment food production with the use of high 
yielding verities of seeds and deployment of 
technology in agriculture. The success of Green 
Revolution required constant support to farmers 
by way of guaranteeing returns so that food grain 
production could become viable and profitable 
enough for cyclic investment. This task was performed 
quite well by FCI. MSP purchase by FCI and allied state 
government agencies, particularly wheat and paddy 
is known as central pool procurement and led to 
constant increase in production (Chart – 1). In fact, 
during 2023 Government purchased about 760 lakh 
MT of wheat and rice from about 1.25 crore farmers 
and has directly credited Rs. 2,19,140 crore into their 
bank accounts.
Chart-2: Rising procurement and share of total production of rice and 
wheat during 1965-2022.
Chart-1: Impact of Support Prices in production of wheat and rice during 1965-2022.
Trend of Production of Rice and Wheat vis-a-vis MSP of Paddy and Wheat
The continued procurement from 
farmers encouraged them to produce 
more, due to which procurement 
share of the total production also 
started rising (Chart – 2). India soon 
became self-sufficient and even food 
surplus. Our dependence on imports 
declined, and within a span of six years, 
Indian Government decided to cancel 
imports from USA even before PL-480 
agreements had expired. The food 
situation intermittently passed through 
some stress due to floods and droughts 
but largely remained manageable due 
21 Kurukshetra       February  2024
to the institutionalised structure of operations led by 
FCI. 
This long institutionalised journey had started 
with four mandates given to FCI. They included: 
a)  To provide remunerative prices to the farmers, 
b)   To provide food grains to vulnerable sections of 
the society at affordable prices, 
c)   To maintain buffer stock reserves for exigencies, 
and 
d)  To intervene in market for price stabilisation. 
In order to achieve these mandates, FCI had to 
constantly enhance its operations, particularly storage, 
transportation, and distribution of food grains.
Storage Operations for Food Grains in Central 
Pool
For any agricultural produce and its value-added 
products, it is important that they are stored properly 
for preservation of their qualities, future usage, and 
consumption. Thus, storage forms a very important 
aspect of food security operations not only for regular 
consumption during  every cycle of production but also 
for maintaining buffer reserves for use during exigencies. 
Food grains like wheat and rice with low-moisture 
and low pH activity fall under the non-perishable 
category and can be stored for a longer duration of 1 
to 4 years. While wheat, after procurement, is bagged 
and stored in godowns as well as in bulk form (loose, 
unpacked grains) in silos, paddy, after procurement 
from farmers, is milled into rice and then stored in 
godowns in bagged form. 
Conventional Godowns
The functional requirement of bagged wheat and 
rice storage are a quality conventional storage structure 
(warehouse/godown) along with management practices 
to provide protection against all possible causes of 
damages during storage. FCI’s storage structure has 
following features: 
a) Robust to withstand environmental stresses for 
long time, less maintenance cost.
b) Able to prevent entry of rodents, birds, and other 
animals.
c) Walls, floor, and roof must be damp proof and 
prevent entry of rainwater.
d) Provision for aeration to maintain uniform 
temperature and relative humidity as far as 
possible, sampling for observing insect pest 
incidence, pesticides application, and fumigation. 
e) Properly located and connected with roads with 
sufficient space for entry and exit of trucks. 
Locations near the kilns, flourmills, garbage 
dumps, tanneries, slaughterhouses, and chemical 
industries have to be avoided.  
Thus, a typical conventional godown may have 
following dimensions depending on capacity:
Godown 
type
Approx. 
Capacity 
(Tonnes)
Internal dimensions (m)
Length 
(m)
Width 
(m)
Height 
(m)
Small 1120 100 12 7.5
2700 250 20 9
5400 500 34 12
10500 1000 35.5 18
28510 2500 97.19 14.48
Large 57020 5000 129.74 21.34
(Note: for storage capacity above 2500 MT, godowns are divided 
in suitable compartments)
Major engineering requirements of such a 
warehouse/godown (Fig. 1) are as follows:
• Suitable foundation, damp proof, and rigid floor 
free from cracks and crevices.
• Plinth at 80 cm above the ground level for truck 
loading and 1060 mm for the rail. 
• Platform width of 183 cm for road-fed and 244 cm 
for rail-fed with slope 1:40 (minimum).
• 23 cm thick longitudinal walls of brick/stone 
masonry up to 5.6 m height from the plinth. 
• Steel ventilators of opening 1494×594 mm2 placed 
near the top on the longitudinal walls. 
• Air inlets steel ventilator of 620×620 mm2 placed 
at 600 mm above the floor level. 
• Suitable number of steel ventilators glazed with 
fixed wire-mesh on the gable walls.
Kurukshetra       February  2024 22
The main disadvantages of CAP are that the 
fumigation is not very effective and the covers are 
damaged at times of high wind and rain, bird attack, 
monkey attack, etc., which make food grains vulnerable. For 
these reasons, FCI has phased out CAP storage since 2022.
Bulk Storage - Silos
Silo is a relatively modern technique of storage 
consisting of a vertical container used for storing 
food grains and other granular materials in loose and 
bulk form. Bins and silos of varying capacities, along 
with bulk handling, aeration, and fumigation systems, 
are very popular worldwide for grain storage (Fig. 3). 
These structures are made of masonry, reinforced 
concrete, or metals (plain or corrugated), with a conical 
hopper or flat bottom. In hopper-bottom bins, the 
grains flow under gravity and do not deposit in the bin 
while unloading (self-cleaning system), and shovelling 
equipment is not required.
Fig. 2: An earlier view of phased out CAP storage
• Single span structural steel or tubular trusses for 
roof.
• Cantilever trusses are fixed on to RCC columns at 
4000 mm height. 
Fig. 3: Concrete silos at FCI, Mayapuri, New Delhi, and 
Commercial hopper bottom storage silos
Modern silos have facilities for temperature 
recording and monitoring at different grain depths. 
Temperature gradients in metal silos are high in 
comparison to wood or concrete bins due to the high 
thermal conductivity of the metals, which causes 
more moisture transfers inside the silo. Spout lines 
are also a concern in bulk storages when uncleaned 
grain is stored. During filling of the bin, fine particles, 
admixtures, and small grains usually concentrate at 
the center of a heap, whereas wholegrains flow away 
towards the periphery. This core of high-dockage in the 
center of the pile is known as the spout line. It acts as 
a source of heat development and pest propagation 
CAP (Covered and Plinth) Storage: A Phased Out 
Method in FCI
A low-cost and short-term storage facility for wheat 
was in use earlier, particularly at the time of harvest in 
major wheat procuring states due to a lack of covered 
storage space. Bags are stacked on a wooden frame 
(dunnage) placed on a raised platform (plinth), and the 
lot is covered with 800-1000-gauge thick polyethylene 
sheets (Fig. 2). This storage method is known as cover 
and plinth (CAP) and is common for the storage of 
wheat and paddy at present in India. 
Fig. 1: A typical bag storage structure with stacking floor plan
The CAP storage site should be at a higher elevation 
than adjoining areas and away from drainage, canals, 
and flood-prone areas to prevent flooding. Normally, 
the plinth is made with brick and mortar, which is 
at least 150 mm above ground level. Anti-termite 
treatment is essential to avoid termite attacks. 
23 Kurukshetra       February  2024
in the silo. The spout lines obstruct the air circulation 
during aeration, which may affect the shelf life of grain. 
Preservation of Food Grains during Storage
In order to maintain and preserve the quality 
of stored food grains in godowns and silos, FCI 
regularly conducts periodical inspections by trained 
professional staff. Depending on the situation, food 
grains are inspected for classification, categorisation, 
disinfestation, and fitness for liquidation following 
the FIFO principle. Food grains are kept infestation-
free by prophylactic treatment with malathion and 
deltamethrin and disinfected by curative treatment 
through fumigation with aluminum phosphide (Fig. 4). 
MT has already been completed. As per the plan 25 lakh 
MT silos would be created for hub at 36 locations and 
86 Lakh MT silos for spoke at 249 locations. It has also 
constructed 0.77 lakh MT storage in difficult terrains. 
About 0.83 lakh MT is under construction for storing 
adequate amount of food grains in such areas. FCI has 
improved the infrastructure of existing godowns in a 
phased manner, introduced LED illumination in place 
of conventional lighting for energy efficiency, reduced 
carbon footprint, and installed high-quality CCTV to 
improve godown security.
Transportation and Distribution of Food Grains
As food grains have to be distributed among 81 
crore people all over the country, procured food grains 
from surplus states are transported to deficit states. 
Efficient transportation is pivotal in connecting surplus 
grain-producing regions with deficit areas. FCI employs 
a multimodal transportation approach, utilising 
railways, roadways, and waterways. Typically, wheat 
is transported from Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya 
Pradesh to all other states, while rice is transported 
from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, 
Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and 
Madhya Pradesh to all other states. 
During the last 5 years, the average quantity of food 
grain transported was about 600 lakh MT. This is about 
40 times the food grains transported during 1965-66, 
when interstate movement was just 15 lakh MT. This 
supply chain involves interstate transportation of about 
82% wheat procured in 3 surplus states and about 66% 
rice procured in 9 surplus states. Thus, on average, a 
food grain bag travels about 1200 km in the country. 
The food grains transported in the deficit regions 
are also stored in local godowns to reach 5.45 lakh 
Fair Price Shops (FPSs) across the country through 
state government agencies. The implementation of 
biometric authentication and the One Nation One 
Ration Card (ONORC) has brought transparency and 
efficiency to the distribution process and security to 
migrant workers. FCI has distributed about 700 lakh MT 
food grains during 2023, which is about 39 times the 
amount distributed during 1965-66. 
Technology Integration and reduction in losses
Over the years, FCI has actively embraced 
Fig-4: Tenets of quality maintenance and preservation of 
food grains by FCI during storage
Storage Capacity in Central Pool
By the end of 2023, FCI has 761.29 lakh MT 
storage space for safe storage of food grains at about 
2000 locations, even after phasing out CAP storage. 
This storage capacity is about 125 times the storage 
capacity on 6.18 lakh MT at the time of its inception 
in 1965-66. While 363.69 lakh MT is with FCI, about 
397.60 lakh MT is with state government agencies. 
FCI has augmented 146.5 lakh MT of scientific covered 
storage in the form of 414 conventional godowns under 
the Private Entrepreneurship Guarantee (PEG) scheme 
with a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
As a part of modernising its storage infrastructure, 
FCI is creating 111 lakh MT state-of-the-art modern silo 
storage in hub and spoke model of which about 15 Lakh