Lok Sabha Question No. 1914 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Strengthen Storage and Distribution Systems to reduce food loss and waste
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Ve Vaithilingam

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1914

TO BE ANSWERED ON lITH  FEBRUARY, 2026

## STRENGTHEN STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION  SYSTEMS TO REDUCE FOOD LOSS AND WASTE

## 1914. SHRI VE VAITHILIN(,AM:

Will  the Minister  of  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND  PUBLIC  DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

- (a): whether the Government has taken steps to  strengthen storage  and distribution  systems to reduce food loss and waste, given that post-harvest losses cost India  nearly  1.5 trillion annually and affect staples such as paddy and wheat as well  as perishables;
- (b): if  so, the details of initiatives  supported for modern warehousing, moisture proof  silos, cold chain expansion, surplus food  redistribution to  food  banks and community kitchens and consumer awareness campaigns to  promote mindful  consumption and reduce wastage at  the household level; and
- (c): whether the  Government proposes to  expand coordination with  the  Ministry  of  Food Processing Industries, the  Ministry of  Agriculture  &  Farmers'  Welfare,  State Governments/UTs including Puducherry and  civil society organisations to  ensure  efficient distribution, strengthen circular  economy models and achieve measurable outcomes in  terms of  reduced food waste and improved national food security?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF STATE FOR MINISTRY  OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS. FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

- (a) &  (b): The Government has taken following  measures to strengthen storage  and distribution systems resulting reduce food loss and waste:-

PEG Scheme - Under the PEG Scheme, construction  of conventional  godowns has been undertaken in 24 States by attracting private investment. PEG Scheme was initiated in 2008. A capacity of 148.61 lakh MT  has been completed  as on 3 1.12.2025.

PEG  Scheme II-  in  order to create covered capacity in wheat procuring  states specially  Punjab and Haryana, new Capacity was sanctioned in Punjab and Haryana to  Phase out Open Storage i.e. 60 LMT  in Punjab and 30 LMT  in Haryana is envisaged under this Plan.

Centre Sector Scheme (CSS) - This scheme is implemented in North Eastern States along with Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Jammu &  Kashmir and Jharkhand. Funds are released by  the Government to FCI and also directly to the State Governments for construction of godowns. During 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17),  a capacity  of  1 ,17,680 MT  in North  Eastern (NE)  States and 20,000 MT in other than NE States has been completed by FCI. A storage capacity of 46,495 MT  has also been created  by State Governments.  This  scheme was extended from  01.04.2017 to 31.03.2025. In this period, a capacity of 123970 MT has been completed.  This scheme is culminated on 3 1.03.2025 .

Asset MonetizationUnder Asset Monetization,  godowns are constructed  on FCI vacant land. 177 locations were identified  for construction of  17.47 LMT  storage capacity.

In  addition to  the above, the Government is taking  various steps to modernize warehouses for increasing effectiveness in infrastructural  as well as operational:-

Construction of SILOs under PPP Mode:  The steel silos are constructed under PPP (Public Private Partnership)  mode which has led to significant cost reduction due to risk sharing and private investment under this framework. In some cases, there is delay in completion of silos mainly due to problems faced by private parties in  acquiring land for the project, force majeure incidents and approval from  railways in  case of  railway siding silos. Such factors have contributed to implementation delays rather than systemic cost escalation or regional imbalance.

Silos at 56 locations with capacity 3 1.75 LMT  have been completed.

The SMART Warehouse uses loT technology in government warehouses to prevent foodgrain losses. Monitoring  parameters  include temperature, humidity,  gas levels, airflow,  and events such as unauthorized access, rodent, and insect activity.  The pilot  project is underway in FCI  godowns in phased manner.

Depot Darpan  portal  has also been introduced in the step of Modernization  and Digitalization  of storage facilities  in FCI. The Portal  facilitates  self-assessment,  rating,  and grading  ofFCI  and CWC foodgrain depots.

Installation  of Modern  CCTV  Cameras: Modern CCTV cameras are also installed in all FCI & CWC godowns for continuous monitoring.

As per information received from Ministry  of Agriculture  &  Farmers' Welfare, no such study w.r.t.  post-harvest losses cost India  nearly  1.5 trillion annually,  as stated, has been undertaken by the AMI  (Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure) Division  of  DMI(Directorate of  Marketing & Inspection). However, in order to strengthen agricultural  marketing infrastructure including  storage infrastructure, the Ministry  of Agriculture  &  Farmers' Welfare  is implementing Capital Subsidy Scheme, Rural Godown Scheme (RGS) for creation of  scientific  Storage capacity since 01.04.2001 and Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure  Grading & Standardization (AMIGS) since 20.10.2004 for creation of agricultural marketing infrastructure (other than storage). Both the schemes have been subsumed as 'Agricultural Marketing  Infrastructure (AMI)' sub-scheme  of Integrated Scheme for Agricultural  Marketing  (IS AM)  since 01.04.2014, and is implemented across the country including UT ofPuducherry through its attached office, DMI.

Under AMI,  a  total  of 49,796 godowns of  storage capacity of 982.94 LMT  has been created up to 31.12.2025 with  subsidy release of  Rs. 4832.61 crore.

As informed by Ministry  of  Cooperation, to address the shortage  of  storage  capacity for  food grains in  the country and creation of  decentralized scientific grain storage infrastructure, the Government, on 3 1  st May, 2023, has approved  the Plan for the 'World's  Largest Grain Storage Plan in  Cooperative Sector', which  has been rolled  out  as a Pilot  Project. The Plan entails creation of various agri  infrastructure  including  godowns, custom hiring  centers, processing units, Fair  Price

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Shops, etc. at  PACS/  other  cooperative  societies level  through  convergence of  various existing schemes of  the  Government of  India  (GoI),  such as, Agriculture  Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI),  Sub Mission on Agricultural  Mechanization (SMAM), Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME), etc

- (c): To strengthen the storage and facilitate the distribution system, this Ministry in coordination with the Ministry  of Cooperation under 'World's  Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector' has providing hiring  guarantee to PACS godowns on the lines of existing PEG schemes as the plan is rolled out as pilot  project.

The Plan entails creation of various agri infrastructure including godowns, custom hiring centers, processing units, Fair Price Shops, etc. at PACS/ other cooperative societies  level through convergence of various existing schemes of the Government of India (GoI), such as, Agriculture Infrastructure  Fund (AIF),  Agricultural  Marketing Infrastructure  Scheme (AMI),  Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SN4AN4), Pradhan Manta  Formalization of  Micro  Food  Processing Enterprises  Scheme (PMFME), etc.

Under the pilot  project, construction of go(towns  in  1 1 PACS of 11 States has been completed.

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