Non-Governmental and Charitable Organizations are playing a vital role in providing cooked meals to thousands of poor and needy people during the nationwide lockdown. To ensure uninterrupted supply of foodgrains to these organizations, the Government of India has directed the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide wheat and rice at Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) rates without requiring them to participate in the e-auction process.
Previously, only state governments and registered bulk consumers such as roller flour mills were permitted to procure foodgrains from FCI under OMSS. With this new directive, NGOs and charitable institutions can now purchase 1 to 10 metric tonnes (MT) of foodgrains at a time from FCI at the pre-determined reserve prices.
With a network of over 2,000 godowns across the country, FCI’s vast infrastructure ensures smooth and timely supply of foodgrains to these organizations in this critical period. This initiative supports the relief efforts of NGOs and charitable institutions that are running community kitchens and feeding migrant workers and vulnerable populations.
To ensure transparency, the details of foodgrain distribution to such institutions will be shared with concerned District Magistrates (DMs) to confirm that the stocks are utilized for the intended purpose.
Maintaining Momentum in Foodgrain Movement
Demonstrating operational efficiency, FCI has transported 2.2 million tonnes of foodgrains from surplus states since the beginning of the lockdown. Around 1 million tonnes have already been handed over to state governments for free distribution under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
Additionally, FCI has supplied about 3.2 million tonnes of foodgrains to state governments to meet requirements under the regular National Food Security Act (NFSA) allocations since March 24, 2020.
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