NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of an inter-ministerial committee (IMC), to be headed by Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, for the facilitation of food grain storage capacity in the cooperative sector through the convergence of various schemes of the Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, and Food Processing ministries.
The IMC will have Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal and Food Processing Minister Pashupati Paras and respective Secretaries as its members.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told media persons after the cabinet meeting, that in order to ensure time-bound and uniform implementation of the storage plan in a professional manner, the Cooperation Ministry will implement a pilot project in at least 10 selected districts of different states in the country.
The pilot would provide valuable insights into the various regional requirements of the project, the learnings from which will be suitably incorporated for the country-wide implementation of the plan, he added.
The committee will modify guidelines and ensure implementation methodologies of the schemes of the respective ministries as and when the need arises, within the approved outlays and prescribed goals, for facilitation of the proposed storage plan, by the creation of infrastructure such as warehouses for agriculture and allied purposes, at selected 'viable' primary agricultural credit societies (PACS).