Executive Summary:
The Ministry of Cooperation addresses Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 225 regarding the Cooperative Foodgrain Storage Scheme. The response details the national-level mapping of warehouses, financial and policy interventions to strengthen storage infrastructure, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, and the integration of cooperative institutions with key agencies like FCI and NAFED. The plan aims to address storage shortages and improve the viability of PACS.
Key Points / Main Content:
Mapping and Identification:
* A plan for the world's largest grain storage in the cooperative sector was approved on May 31, 2023, and rolled out as a pilot project.
* Mapping of existing storage infrastructure is underway, identifying locations with storage gaps by states/UTs, including Jammu and Kashmir.
* District Cooperative Development Committees (DCDCs) assess storage facilities, capacity utilization, storage gaps, PACS viability, project locations, and logistics.
* Over 500 PACS have been identified for godown construction; 24 godowns in Rajasthan were completed and inaugurated on July 17, 2025.
* Jammu and Kashmir is executing the pilot project and extending the plan to deficit districts identified by FCI.
Financial and Policy Interventions:
* The plan entails creating agri-infrastructure at the PACS level, including godowns, custom hiring centers, processing units, and fair price shops.
* Convergence of schemes like Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) and Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI) will support this.
* Under AIF, PACS receive interest subvention on loans for godown construction.
* Under AMI, the margin money requirement is reduced to 10%, construction cost limits have been revised, and subsidies have been increased for PACS.
* An additional subsidy is available for PACS for ancillary infrastructure.
* Jammu and Kashmir provided credit for grain storage at Rajbagh Kathua and plans similar facilities for other PACS godowns.
Integration with Agencies:
* PACS are being integrated with FCI, NAFED, NCCF, and State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs).
* These agencies help identify PACS, construct godowns, provide hiring assurance, and offer operational support.
* FCI maps storage gaps and issues hiring assurances.
* NAFED and NCCF identify PACS, issue hiring assurances, guide proposal development, and ensure godown utilization.
* SWCs facilitate timely hiring commitments in coordination with CWC and State Cooperation Departments.
Objectives and Outcomes:
* Promote decentralized storage and reduce reliance on centralized procurement.
* Ensure year-round utilization of PACS godowns.
* Improve the financial viability of PACS.
* Strengthen last-mile delivery of foodgrains and reduce post-harvest losses.
Impact Analysis:
PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies):
* Impact: Enhanced infrastructure, increased financial viability through storage facilities and integration with national agencies, access to subsidies and interest subvention.
* Action Required: Engage with DCDCs for project viability assessment, apply for loans and subsidies under AIF and AMI schemes, coordinate with FCI, NAFED, NCCF, and SWCs for operational support and hiring assurances.
Farmers:
* Impact: Improved access to storage facilities, reduced post-harvest losses, strengthened last-mile delivery of foodgrains, and potentially better prices for their produce.
* Action Required: Utilize the new storage facilities for storing produce, engage with PACS for accessing services and benefits.
Government of India (Ministry of Cooperation, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare):
* Impact: Addresses food grain storage shortages, strengthens the cooperative sector, promotes rural development, and reduces post-harvest losses.
* Action Required: Ensure effective implementation of the Cooperative Foodgrain Storage Scheme, allocate funds under AIF and AMI, coordinate with FCI, NAFED, NCCF, SWCs, and state governments for successful execution of the plan.
FCI, NAFED, NCCF, State Warehousing Corporations:
* Impact: Increased role in identifying PACS, constructing godowns, providing hiring assurance, and offering operational support, contributing to the success of the Cooperative Foodgrain Storage Scheme.
* Action Required: Actively participate in mapping storage gaps, issue hiring assurances, guide proposal development, ensure godown utilization, and facilitate timely hiring commitments in coordination with CWC and State Cooperation Departments.
Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir:
* Impact: Strengthened foodgrain storage infrastructure, economic development in deficit districts, and improved livelihoods for farmers.
* Action Required: Execute the pilot project effectively, extend the plan to identified deficit districts, provide credit facilities for godown construction, and coordinate with relevant stakeholders for successful implementation.
Key Entities Referenced
Cooperative Foodgrain Storage Scheme: A government initiative aimed at addressing the shortage of foodgrain storage capacity in India through cooperative societies.
Jammu and Kashmir: A Union Territory of India, specifically mentioned as a focus area for the Cooperative Foodgrain Storage Scheme.
Food Corporation of India (FCI): A government agency responsible for food grain procurement and distribution, being integrated with PACS under the scheme.
NAFED: National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, a national-level cooperative involved in procurement and marketing, and integrated with PACS under the scheme.
NCCF: National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India, a national-level cooperative involved in procurement and marketing, and integrated with PACS under the scheme.
PACS: Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, the basic units for implementing the grain storage plan at the village level.
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF): A Government of India scheme providing financial assistance, including interest subvention, for agri-infrastructure development, utilized under the Cooperative Foodgrain Storage Scheme.
Rajasthan: A state in India where godowns have been completed under the pilot project of the Cooperative Foodgrain Storage Scheme.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COOPERATION
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 225
TO BE ANSWERED ON 5th AUGUST, 2025
Cooperative Foodgrain Storage Scheme
†*225. Shri Satish Kumar Gautam:
Shri Jugal Kishore:
Will the Minister of COOPERATION (सहकारिता मंत्री) be pleased to state:
(a) whether national level mapping of warehouses has been carried out under the Cooperative
Foodgrain Storage Scheme in the country particularly in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,
if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether any financial or policy interventions are proposed to strengthen the Cooperative
Foodgrain Storage infrastructure particularly in Jammu, if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the cooperative institutions are being connected with the Food Corporation of India
(FCI), NAFED, NCCF and State Warehousing Corporations; and
(d) if so, the details thereof along with the objectives and expected outcomes?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION
सहकारिता मंत्री (SHRI AMIT SHAH)
(a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) IN RESPECT OF LOK
SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 225 FOR REPLY ON 5TH AUGUST, 2025 ASKED BY
SHRI SATISH KUMAR GAUTAM AND SHRI JUGAL KISHORE REGARDING
COOPERATIVE FOODGRAIN STORAGE SCHEME.
(a): Yes, Sir. In order to address the shortage of storage capacity for food grains in the country,
the Government, on 31st May, 2023, has approved the Plan for the “World’s Largest Grain Storage
Plan in Cooperative Sector”, which has been rolled out as a Pilot Project. Under the Plan, mapping
of existing storage infrastructure has been initiated which includes identification of locations with
storage gap by States/ UTs including Jammu & Kashmir and central agencies and mapping those
against available PACS with land and operational readiness. For this purpose, a Committee at District
level namely District Cooperative Development Committee (DCDC) has been entrusted with the
roles to examine and assess the availability of existing storage facilities, their capacity utilization,
storage gap, capacity of proposed godowns, viability of the applicant PACS, location of the proposed
project, connectivity, logistics, etc. The objective is to identify gaps in rural storage and target PACS
for infrastructure development in such areas.
Under the Pilot Project, construction of godowns has been completed in 11 PACS of 11 States.
Further, more than 500 PACS have been identified for construction of godowns under the project out
of which 24 godowns in the State of Rajasthan have been completed and inaugurated on 17.7.2025.
Further, the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir is executing the pilot at Rajbagh Kathua
(MPCS Rajbagh) and has extended the plan in the deficit districts viz. Kulgam, Shopian, Baramulla,
Kupwara, Bandipora, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Reasi & Ramban identified by FCI.
(b): The Plan entails creation of various agri infrastructure at PACS level, including godowns,
custom hiring centers, processing units, Fair Price Shops, etc. through convergence of various
existing schemes of the Government of India (GoI), such as, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF),
Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization
(SMAM), Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME),
etc. Under the AIF Scheme the benefit of interest subvention is given to the PACS against the loan
taken for construction of godowns and under AMI Scheme subsidy is given for the construction of
foodgrain storage. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has also made the following
amendments under the AMI scheme:
• Margin money requirement has been reduced from 20% to 10%.
• The construction cost has been revised from ₹3000–3500/MT to ₹7000/MT for plain areas
and from ₹4000/MT to ₹8000/MT for northeastern states.• The subsidy has been increased for PACS from 25% to 33.33% (from ₹875/MT to ₹2333/MT
for plain areas and from ₹1333.33/MT to ₹2666/MT for northeastern states).
• For PACS, a provision has been made to provide an additional subsidy of 1/3 (one third) of
the total admissible subsidy for ancillary infrastructure such as internal roads, weighbridges,
boundary walls, etc., for PACS.
Further, some States such as Rajasthan and Gujarat are providing financial support for godown
construction under the project through their own State level schemes.
In the UT of Jammu & Kashmir, the credit facility has already been provided in respect of Grain
Storage at Rajbagh Kathua along with Margin Money met out of UT Capital Funds and the UT plans
to provide similar facility for construction of other PACS godowns in the identified districts.
(c): PACS are being actively integrated with FCI, NAFED, NCCF, State Warehousing
Corporations (SWCs) through this plan. These agencies have been roped in for identification of
PACS, constructions of godowns, providing hiring assurance, and extending operational support
under the plan. FCI plays a critical role in mapping storage gaps for construction of godowns at
PACS level and issuing hiring assurances, especially in non-DCP States. NAFED and NCCF, being
national-level procurement and marketing cooperatives, are responsible for identifying PACS in their
procurement zones, issuing hiring assurances, guiding proposal development, and ensuring full
operational utilization of constructed godowns. Additionally, SWCs, in coordination with the Central
Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and State Cooperation Departments, are tasked with facilitating
timely hiring commitments.
(d): The key objectives and outcomes of this integration include:
• Promoting decentralized storage and reducing reliance on centralized procurement.
• Ensuring year-round utilization of PACS godowns through assured hiring.
• Improving the financial viability of PACS and enabling them to evolve as self-sustaining
rural institutions.
• Strengthening last-mile delivery of foodgrains and reducing post-harvest losses.
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