NGOs and charitable organizations are playing an important role in providing cooked food to thousands of poor and needy people during this time of nationwide lockdown.
To ensure uninterrupted supply of food grains to these organization, the Centre has directed FCI to provide wheat and rice to such organizations at the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) rates without going through the e-auction process.
These organizations can purchase 1 to 10 MT at a time from FCI at the predetermined reserve prices.
FCI has a network of more than 2000 godowns in the country and such a large network of godowns will ensure smooth supply of food grains to these organisations in this hour of crisis.
It will help relief camps in their philanthropic work of feeding poor and migrant workers in the country.
The details of the lifting of food grain by such institutions would be intimated to the concerned District Magistrates to ensure that the food grain is utilised for the intended purpose.
Maintaining the quick pace of transportation of food grain stocks across the country, FCI has moved 2.2 Million tonnes from the surplus states since the beginning of lockdown.
It has already handed over about 1 Million Tonnes of food grain to the state governments for free distribution under the PMGKAY scheme.
FCI has also delivered about 3.2 Million Tonnes of food grains to state governments to meet the requirements under regular NFSA allocation since March 24.