Lok Sabha Question No. 4147 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-18
Subject: Foodgrain Storage Capacity
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Dr. Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri Sanjay Dina Patil, Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4147

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18TH MARCH, 2026

## FOODGRAIN STORAGE CAPACITY

4147.

SMT. SUPRIYA SULE: SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR  BHAGARE : SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH: DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE: PROF. VARSH A EKNATH GAIKWAD: SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL:

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

- (a): whether the Government has conducted  any recent gap analysis offoodgrain storage capacity in Maharashtra,  particularly  in drought-prone, tribal  and flood-affected districts;
- (b): the availability of  covered Cover  and Plinth  (CAP)  and silo-based storage capacity with  the Food Corporation of India (FCI),  State agencies and cooperatives in Maharashtra,  district-wise;
- (c): whether instances of excessive reliance on open or temporary storage,  leading to quality deterioration, transit losses or delayed procurement operations have been reported in the said State and if  so, the details thereof;
- (d) : whether regional imbalances exist between procurement volumes and storage infrastructure in Maharashtra; and
- (e): the details of the time-bound measures proposed  by the Government to expand scientific warehousing, modern  silos, decentralised  storage at block  level  and public-private partnerships to reduce wastage and improve  food  security  in Maharashtra?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

- (a): The Government, through Food Corporation of  India  (FCI),  has undertaken an assessment of foodgrain storage capacity across country, including  Maharashtra, to  examine the gap between available storage infrastructure and storage  requirements in view  of the evolving  procurement and offtake scenario.

The assessment is carried out on the basis of factors such as procurement  trends, offtake under the Public Distribution  System  (PDS) and other welfare schemes, stock holding norms, and regional logistics requirements. The analysis  also takes into account  district-level  demand  patterns,  including high-turnover  and deficit areas.

(b) & (c):  As on 01.02.2026, total Storage Capacity  available with FCI and State agencies throughout the country for storage of Central Pool foodgrains stock is 945.84 LMT.  Wherein, 25.97 LMT  storage capacity available in Maharashtra  including  0.5 LMT  Silo  storage at Navi  Mumbai.

Currently there is no CAP (open or temporary) storage capacity in Maharashtra.  Food grains are stored in covered in scientific  storage  facilities  i. e. godowns and silos.

(d)  & (e): The  requirement  of  Storage capacity  in  FCI  depends upon  the  level  of  procurement, requirement of  buffer norms and PDS operations for  Rice and Wheat mainly. FCI  continuously assesses and monitors the storage capacity and based on the storage gap assessment, storage capacities are created/hired through following schemes:-

PEG  Scheme 2008/09  in  PPP  Mode:  Under  the  PEG  Scheme, construction  of  conventional godowns has been undertaken in  24  States by  attracting private investment. PEG Scheme was initiated  in 2008. Total capacity sanctioned for godowns as on 01.02.2026 is 151.58 LMT. Out of this,  148.61 LMT  has been completed.

Modified PEG  Scheme for  NE  and Hilly States in  PPP Mode:  For creation of  new capacities  in North  Eastern/ Hilly states, suitable modifications  were made in the PEG Scheme to attract investors to North  Eastern/Hilly  states. Total 4.32 LMT  capacity is assessed to be created under this scheme.

Construction of Silos in PPP Mode: To improve operational efficiency in storage  of food grains with  the  participation  of  private  sector, and to  upgrade and  modernize the  storage facilities, Government of  India has approved  construction of Steel Silos for bulk  storage  of food grains across the country under PPP mode.

Accordingly,  Silos at  57 locations with  capacity 32.25 Lakh  MT  are functional  (as on 01.02.2026).

Asset Monetization: Under this  scheme, additional  capacity is  created on  FCI's  owned existing depots in PPP mode. Total  58,950 MT  capacity has been taken over  as on 01.02.2026.

Hiring  of godo\yn from  CWC/  SWCs/  State Agencies/ Private  parties:  FCI hires storage capacity from CWC, SWCs, State Agencies and Private Parties (under PWS scheme) as per the requirement.

Furthermore, the godowns are constructed by  FCI  in  accordance  with  the BIS  standards, CPWD specifications and manuals issued by  CPWD  for ensuring uniformity,  safety and compliance with established engineering practices.

The Government has also undertaken the following initiatives to  expand scientific warehousing and modern silos

Smart  Warehouse Project:  The Government is in the process of converting its  150 owned Depots to smart warehouses on pilot basis. Under this project, traditional  depots are proposed to be converted to smart warehouses which  are equipped with  different  sensors like  smoke sensors, fire  sensors & gate opening sensor etc. for monitoring key parameters such as CC)2, phosphine levels, fire hazards, humidity, unauthorized entry and temperature on real time basis.

This  initiative is  to  ensure real-time  visibility, timely  intervention,  data-driven decisionmaking  &  standardized operations across all  depots contributing to ensure safe, secure, and efficient food grain storage  and distribution.

Depot Darpan  Portal:  Depot Darpan Portal is a digital platform  launched  by DFPD to enhance the monitoring,  transparency and efficiency  of food-grain  storage depots &  warehouses under PDS.

## Key features and purpose of Depot Darpan:

- a.  Depot/warehouse  managers  upload geo-tagged data regarding infrastructure, operations, and financial performance of the depot.
- b. Portal uses a composite scoring system, assessing depots on two broad categories: infrastructure (safety, storage  conditions, technology use, compliance) and operational parameters (stock turnover,  losses, space utilisation, manpower  costs etc.).
- c. Based on the scores, each depot receives a star rating,  which  is meant to provide  a quick assessment of depot performance.
- d.  Validation of data is built into the process via 100% supervisory officer verification and some random third-party audits to ensure reliability.
- e. All  the FCI's owned and hired warehouses are covered under Depot Darpan portal.

## Anna (:hakra"  Inter-state Route optimization tool:-

Inter-state movement optimization  has been undertaken to  streamline and enhance the interstate movement operations offoodgrains,  primarily  by rail, undertaken by the Food Corporation of India (FCI). These movements  are planned to meet Public Distribution  System (PDS) requirements in consuming states while  simultaneously managing storage space in procuring  or surplus regions. The daily planning and execution of these operations is carried out by FCI using the tool developed for this purpose.

## CCTV  and loT  technologies:-

This technologies transform depot operations by ensuring: -

- I. Real-time visibility
- II. Timely  intervention
- III. Data-driven decision-making

ScIcSe  qc RSc