World’s largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector 

Q. Why in News/Context :

·   The Union Cabinet approved forming and empowering an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to create the “world’s largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector” by converging eight ongoing schemes of three ministries.

·      The Cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

·    It would be the world’s largest grain storage scheme in the cooperative sector with an outlay of around Rs 1 lakh crore.

Q. What are the Eight schemes that will be converged?

Q. What will be the benefits?

·   The “multi-pronged” plan aims to address not just shortage of agricultural storage infrastructure in the country by facilitating establishment of godown at the level of primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) but “would also enable PACS to undertake various other activities”.

·      These are roles such as functioning as procurement centres for state agencies or the Food Corporation of India (FCI); serving as fair price shops; setting up custom hiring centres; setting up common processing units, including assaying, sorting, grading units for agricultural produce, etc.

·    Further, creation of decentralized storage capacity at the local level would reduce grain wastage and (will) strengthen food security.

·     By providing various options to farmers, it would prevent distress sale of crops, thus enabling farmers to realise better prices for their produce.

·    It would hugely reduce the cost incurred in transportation of food grains to procurement centres and again transporting the stocks back from warehouses to FPS (fair price shops).