Launched by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the system represents the world's largest deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) based technologies in public sector foodgrain warehousing.
About Smart Warehousing System
- Technologies:
- Advanced gate automation using FASTag and ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) and intelligent access control through geo-tagged smart locks;
- AI-enabled bag counting, face recognition systems, object detection;
- IoT-based monitoring of environmental parameters, and AI-powered surveillance for fire, smoke and rodent detection.
- Implementation: Implemented across 215 bag-based foodgrain warehouses of the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), while the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is deploying the system in an additional 150 warehouses.
- Significance: Expected to improve operational efficiency by reducing vehicle turnaround time (TAT), strengthening compliance monitoring, improving manpower productivity, enabling early hazard detection and providing real-time visibility of warehouse operations.
Food Grain Storage Systems in India
- Centralized Storage: Primarily handled by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which procures grains directly or via State Government Agencies at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
- Decentralized Storage: Carried out through rural godowns, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), and on farm storage by farmers.
- Around 60-70%, of food grain produced is stored at household level using various indigenous traditional storage structures.
Key Government Schemes for Storage Infrastructure
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