Decentralised procurement, NFSA entitlement and a migrant cardholder
A district lies in a state that has opted for Decentralised Procurement. The district has 18,000 priority households under the National Food Security Act, with an average of four members each, and 2,100 Antyodaya Anna Yojana families. The state agency has procured 42,000 MT of wheat this season and stores it on behalf of the Food Corporation of India. At a review meeting the district supply officer states that the FCI fixes the minimum support price, and that since the state has procured the wheat, the FCI now has no role in the district. He also asks what the district's monthly requirement will be, and how the office should respond to a migrant worker who holds a priority-household ration card issued in another state and wants to draw his family's wheat here.
1. Assess the district supply officer's two statements about the minimum support price and about the FCI's role under Decentralised Procurement.
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On the minimum support price - the officer is wrong. The MSP is recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture, and approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The FCI does not fix the MSP; it operates as the principal central procurement agency once the price is announced.
On the FCI's role - also wrong. Under Decentralised Procurement the state government or its agencies procure, store and distribute foodgrains on behalf of the FCI, and the stock so procured is treated as part of the central pool. The FCI reimburses the procurement cost and carrying charges, monitors stock and quality, and remains accountable for the central pool position. The state acts as a delegated agency, not as an independent owner of the grain.
Why the distinction matters in practice: if a storage loss or quality rejection occurs, the officer cannot say the FCI has no role. Reimbursement claims, buffer-norm reporting and the monthly stock statement all still run through the FCI regional office.
2. Compute the district's monthly foodgrain requirement under the Act, showing the split between priority households and Antyodaya families.
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Priority households. Entitlement is 5 kg per person per month. Persons = 18,000 households × 4 members = 72,000. Quantity = 72,000 × 5 = 3,60,000 kg = 360 MT.
Antyodaya Anna Yojana families. Entitlement is 35 kg per family per month, not per person. Quantity = 2,100 × 35 = 73,500 kg = 73.5 MT.
Total monthly requirement = 360 + 73.5 = 433.5 MT.
Reading the answer. The commonest error here is applying the 5 kg per-person rate to AAY families; AAY entitlement is a flat per-family quantity. A second error is multiplying AAY by four members. Against a monthly need of 433.5 MT, the 42,000 MT procured this season is roughly 97 months of district requirement - evidence that the grain is held for the central pool and for other districts, not consumed locally, which is precisely why FCI reimbursement and stock reporting cannot be skipped.
3. A migrant worker holding a priority-household card from another state wants to draw his family's wheat in this district. Advise the office.
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He is entitled to draw it. Under the One Nation One Ration Card arrangement, an NFSA ration cardholder can lift the entitled quantity from any fair price shop fitted with an electronic point-of-sale device in any state, using Aadhaar-based biometric authentication. His home-state card is not cancelled and he does not need a fresh card here.
How the transaction works. The host shop's stock is debited, the transaction is recorded on the central portability portal, and the value is settled between the two states. The host district's allocation is therefore adjusted, which is why the shopkeeper must not refuse on the ground that the card belongs to another state.
Where refusal is still possible - the honest caveats. Portability covers NFSA priority and AAY cards; a card issued only under a state-specific scheme is outside it. If the card is not seeded or the biometric fails, the shop cannot authenticate the transaction, and the worker should be directed to the district supply office for seeding or an alternative authentication route. Also check that his family has not already lifted the month's quota in the home state - the system blocks a double draw, so the counter staff should explain the reason for refusal rather than simply turning him away.