The nodal agency that undertakes the procurement, distribution and storage of foodgrain in India is:

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the principal nodal agency for managing India's food security operations. Established in 1965 under the Food Corporations Act 1964, its primary mandate is to safeguard the interests of both farmers and consumers. The FCI executes the Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations across the country, ensuring that farmers receive fair prices for their produce, particularly wheat and rice. Furthermore, it is responsible for the massive task of centralized storage and maintenance of buffer stocks, which is crucial for intervening in the market during periods of scarcity or price volatility. Finally, the FCI supplies these foodgrains to the state governments for distribution through the Public Distribution System (PDS), fulfilling the government’s welfare schemes, such as the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

The incorrect option is 1 (State Trading Corporation): The State Trading Corporation (STC) is a government trading organization primarily involved in international trade—imports and exports of various commodities, including some agricultural products. However, its core function is trade facilitation and market intervention for non-food security crops or products, not the domestic procurement, storage, and PDS distribution of foodgrain staples like wheat and rice, which is the specialized role of the FCI.

The incorrect option is 3 (Union Ministry of Agriculture): The Union Ministry of Agriculture (and Farmers' Welfare) is the policy-making body responsible for agricultural production, research, and setting policy like the MSP itself. While it oversees the agricultural sector, it is not an executive agency that handles the physical logistics—the day-to-day operations of physically procuring, storing, and distributing the foodgrains. These operational tasks are delegated to specific public sector undertakings like the FCI.

The incorrect option is 4 (Respective State governments): While State governments play a vital role in food security, particularly in the final step of distribution (running the PDS shops and last-mile logistics), they rely heavily on the FCI for procurement and storage. The FCI maintains the central buffer stock, transfers it to the states, and the states then manage the intra-state distribution. Therefore, the overall national nodal agency for centralized procurement and storage remains the FCI, not the individual state governments operating in isolation.