Foodgrain stocks in the Central Pool stood at 353.67 lakh tons (LT) as on February 16, 2015, as per information provided by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Raosaheb Patil Danve. The current stocks are more as compared to the minimum buffer norms of 214.10 LT for January-March quarter which is adequate to meet the requirement under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS). The estimated annual requirement of foodgrains under National Food Security Act (NFSA) is 614.3 LT.
The Government has taken several steps to minimize storage and transit losses such as proper quality check at the time of procurement, adoption of proper scientific code of storage practices, use of wooden crates, bamboo mats to avoid moisture from the floor, prophylactic and fumigation.
These are carried out regularly in FCI godowns, effective rat control measures, regular inspection of stocks/ godowns by Senior Officers, use of First in First Out (FIFO) method to avoid longer storage of foodgrains, deployment of security staff and use of covered wagons for movement of foodgrains etc.