The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for FY 2024-25 to enhance the efficiency and accountability of food grain procurement and distribution.
The MoU is an initiative that reflects the Centre’s commitment to refine the Public Distribution System (PDS) and to ensure that food subsidy funds are managed with the highest level of efficiency by way of overall enhancement in the performance of FCI operations and its depots, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a statement.
The MoU outlines specific performance benchmarks, including performance benchmarking of FCI depots, and accountability measures aimed at optimising the use of public funds in managing food security operations, it added.
The performance benchmarking of FCI depots includes efficiency parameters such as capacity utilisation, operational losses, security measures, modernisation, and automation of depot processes, among other things.
Set up in 1965 under the Food Corporations Act, 1964, the FCI has the primary duty to undertake the purchase, storage, movement/transport, distribution, and sale of food grains.
The corporation operates under a public service mandate on behalf of the DFPD. It does not have any income source and its public service mandate is financed completely through the food subsidy provided by the Government of India.
It is appropriate that such large public expenditures be evaluated for their cost-effectiveness and value for money. This entails benchmarking performance on critical operational parameters and establishing institutional accountability.