Introduction
The primary policy objective of the Department of Food & Public Distribution is to ensure food security for the country through timely and efficient procurement and distribution of Food grains. This involves procurement of various Food grains, building up
and maintenance of food stocks, their storage, movement and delivery to the distributing agencies and monitoring of production, stock and price levels of Food grains.
The focus is on incentivizing farmers through fair value of their produce by way of Minimum Support Price mechanism, distribution of Food grains to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and covering poor households at the risk of hunger under Antyodaya Anna
Yojana (AAY), establishing grain banks in food scarce areas and involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Public Distribution System (PDS).
The Department is also responsible for formulation of policies concerning the sugar sector such as fixing of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane payable by Sugar factories, development and regulation of sugar industry (including training in sugar
technology) and regulation of supply of free sale sugar. The Department also formulates policies on export and import of Food grains, sugar and edible oils.