• Recently, 1.66 LMT of wheat and 0.17 LMT of rice were sold through the Open Market Sale Scheme by the Central Government.
• To increase the supply of food grains, FCI sells surplus stocks of wheat and rice at pre-determined prices through e-auction in the open market from time to time.
• The objective of the scheme is to dispose of the surplus stocks of wheat and rice held by FCI and to regulate the prices of wheat in the open market.

 Food Corporation of India:

• FCI is a statutory body under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.
• It was established in the year 1965 under the Food Corporation of India Act, 1964.
• Headquarter: New Delhi

Major Task :

• Purchasing, storing, transporting, distributing and selling food grains and other food items.
• To maintain satisfactory levels of circulation and buffer stocks of food grains to ensure national food security.
• It also conducts e-auction which is one of the ways of dealing with surplus food grains.

Exam oriented Static facts

 Note - National Farmers Commission was formed in 2004.

Government initiatives related to food security:

• National Food Security Mission: 2007-08
• eNAM Portal:  2016.