Food Corporation of India should emerge as a trusted partner of farmers and people: Goyal

Food Corporation of India should emerge as a trusted partner of farmers and people of the country, said Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal said while delivering address during 60^th Foundation of FCI here today.

Shri Goyal said FCI plays a crucial role in facilitating flagship schemes like Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) by providing ration to beneficiaries in every corner of the country. However, he emphasized that the role of FCI is not only to deliver ration, but also to instill confidence in farmers and beneficiaries by bringing transparency, efficiency and accountability.

The Union Minister said PM has promised to make India Corruption Free. To ensure this promise of Viksit Bharat, he called upon youngsters and staff of FCI to bring transparency and become whistleblower.

Talking about the second area of priority, Shri Goyal said FCI needs to embrace digitization and technology by bringing quality. He said quality can be achieved in areas like inspection, procurement, transportation, distribution and storage. He also suggested to reduce operational costs through route optimization, mechanised loading/unloading, innovative storage solutions and others.

He said FCI’s Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) operations have also proved to be an effective tool in moderating the prices of essential commodities like wheat and rice to benefit consumers.  Shri Goyal added that Bharat Atta, Bharat Dal, interventions regarding Onion and Tomato has assisted Government of India in price stabilization.