The Department of Food and Public Distribution convened a conference of State and Union Territory Food Secretaries on 1 September 2026 to assess how foodgrain procurement, distribution and storage operations are functioning across India. Secretary Sanjeev Chopra led discussions on multiple fronts including paddy purchasing, technological upgrades to supply chains, and digital identity verification in the public distribution system.
What the government is doing
For the upcoming Kharif season 2026–27, States have been set a target of procuring 708.64 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. Starting this season, the Department will shift to “Improved Rice” with stricter quality standards. Raw rice will now permit only 10% broken grains instead of the current 25%, while parboiled rice must not exceed 5% broken grains compared to the present 16%. States must assess and upgrade their rice milling capacity to handle this change.
Coarse grains procurement is estimated at 18.85 lakh metric tonnes for Kharif 2026–27. The Department has set a New Storage Policy that aims to add 131 lakh metric tonnes of new storage capacity, split between States (111 lakh metric tonnes) and the Food Corporation of India (20 lakh metric tonnes).
For tracking foodgrains in transit, the Vehicle Location Tracking System using GPS will be rolled out across States by December 2026, with some States completing it by September. Digital Rupee payments for Fair Price Shop dealer margins will expand beyond Gujarat, Puducherry and Chandigarh to cover all of Delhi and two districts each in Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Digital identity checks through e-KYC have reached 90.64% coverage as of 30 July 2026. New rules for detecting and removing duplicate or inactive ration cards take effect from 1 October 2026. Vigilance Committees will use Aadhaar authentication when foodgrains are collected from Fair Price Shops.
What this means for you
If you receive rations through the public distribution system, expect your ration card to be digitally verified. If your card remains inactive or is listed as a duplicate, you will face temporary suspension followed by a three-month window to revalidate through e-KYC. Foodgrain supplies to shops will be tracked in real time using vehicle GPS, reducing loss and delay. Stricter rice quality standards mean fewer broken grains in what you receive, though States will need time to upgrade their milling infrastructure to meet these demands.