Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India working on Four Pillars for 100 Days Action Plan
Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India working on Four Pillars for 100 Days Action Plan
The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) has worked on four major pillars during the first 100 days of this government. The four pillars are as follows: i) Digitalization of DFPD operations, ii) Modernizing storage and streamlining logistics in PDS, iii) Transforming Fair Price Shops into Jan Poshan Kendras and iv) Institutional strengthening of organizations under DFPD.
In the last 100 days, the DFPD has already made major strides in achieving the targets on all the above pillars. A few key achievements and the way forward are detailed below:
Silos harness the efficiency of railway siding, promote cost efficiency through bulk storage & movement & reduces cost. As of now, Silos of total 21.75 LMT capacity are functional and 7.5 LMT are under construction. A capacity of 3 LMT at 6 locations has been completed during the 100 days. DFPD has planned to develop a capacity of 111.125 LMT under Hub and Spoke Model, out of which tenders have been awarded for construction of 34.8 LMT capacity in phase-I. Department is in process to make arrangements for movement of foodgrain in bulk through specialized wagons with top loading & bottom discharge which will harness the optimum benefits of Silos by reducing the logistics cost.
A quantity of 19.03 LMT of coarse grains/Millets (Shree Anna) has also been estimated for procurement by the States during the KMS 2024-25(Kharif crop).
In the current Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2023-24 (November-October), 13.59% ethanol blending has been achieved, with approximately 545.05 crore litres of ethanol blended as of August 31, 2024.
Modern Video Surveillance System: DFPD has taken initiative to install Modern Video Surveillance System in FCI Depots in order to bring more transparency. Aim of this is to have an integrated system which will lead to an increased standard of surveillance, oversight in warehouse management practices, greater levels of collaboration (particularly amongst various line departments), innovation in monitoring models, scalable solutions, and a more secure basis for the FCI to manage their supply chain.
Overall, the DFPD has made significant progress in achieving its targets within the first 100 days. These initiatives are expected to improve food security, enhance the efficiency of PDS operations, and empower beneficiaries.
- Launch of Jan Poshan Kendras: DFPD launched a pilot program to transform 60 Fair Price Shops (FPSs) as Jan Poshan Kendra (JPK) on August 20, 2024. These JPKs offer non-PDS commodities with particular focus on nutrition-dense commodities at prices that are competitive with those in the open market. The pilot is envisaged to bridge the nutritional gaps among beneficiaries while providing additional revenue streams to the FPS dealers. The FPS dealers have already been trained as Poshan Mitras, to provide guidance on nutritional literacy to beneficiaries. The pilot was launched in Ghaziabad (UP), Jaipur (RJ), Ahmedabad (GJ) and Hyderabad (Telangana). Over the next five years, 50,000 FPSs are planned to be converted to JPKs across the country.