Centre Approves Revised Foodgrain Procurement Standards and Storage Policy

At the State Food Secretaries Conference held in New Delhi on September 1, 2026, the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Government of India, formally approved major policy changes for foodgrain procurement and public distribution. Under the newly sanctioned specifications for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2026–27, the permissible limit of broken grains in raw rice procured for public distribution schemes—including the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)—has been sharply reduced from 25% to 10%. Similarly, for parboiled rice, the broken grain limit has been capped at 5%, down from 16%, aiming to significantly enhance the nutritional quality and standard of rice supplied to millions of beneficiaries across the country. Chaired by Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra, the conference also introduced a New Storage Policy envisaging the creation of 131 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of additional modern storage capacity. Furthermore, state governments were directed to mandate the Vehicle Location Tracking System (VLTS) across all foodgrain transport vehicles by December 2026 to eliminate diversion, while paddy procurement estimates for the upcoming season were fixed at 708.64 LMT.