Why were the FCI granaries overflowing with foodgrains and how was the situation controlled?
Answer:
- In July 2002, the stock of wheat and rice with FCI was 63 million tonnes which was much more than the minimum buffer norms of 24.3 million tonnes.
- The stock eased after 2002-03 due to relief operations undertaken by the government as the year was declared as draught year due to failure of monsoon.
- The decline in stocks continued in subsequent years. However, these remained consistently higher than the buffer norms. The situation improved with the distribution of foodgrains under different schemes launched by the government.