Govt will back FCI’s warehouse expansion plan, says Uttam

Hyderabad: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy assured the Food Corporation of India (FCI) on August 3 of full state government support for expanding foodgrain storage infrastructure in Telangana.

The initiative aims to match record paddy procurement and strengthen contributions to the Central Pool. The assurance was given when FCI General Manager Anuj Tyagi paid a courtesy call on the Minister to discuss foodgrain procurement, storage infrastructure, and logistics.

During the meeting, FCI officials informed the Minister that the corporation needs to augment its grain storage capacity in Telangana due to rapidly increasing paddy procurement. They outlined plans to substantially boost storage infrastructure by establishing modern warehouses across the state.

Responding positively, N Uttam Kumar Reddy assured FCI of complete cooperation for the successful implementation of the storage expansion programme. He stated that the state would extend all necessary support, including inter-departmental coordination, to facilitate statutory clearances and create additional storage capacity.

The Minister stressed the need to streamline procurement operations and ensure the timely movement of foodgrains so that farmers do not face inconvenience during procurement seasons.

He called for closer coordination between the state government and FCI to improve procurement efficiency, storage management, and logistics. Telangana emerged as the country's second-largest paddy procuring state during the Kharif Marketing Season 2025-26. However, despite this record procurement, Telangana currently possesses only about 31.00 LMT of Central Pool storage capacity, leaving a storage deficit of 16.25 LMT under FCI storage norms.