New Delhi, Feb 11 (PTI) Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said in Parliament that the construction of godowns has been completed in 11 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) located in 11 states under the pilot grain storage plan.

Shah, in his written reply to the Lok Sabha, said the government is implementing the "World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in the Cooperative Sector" on a pilot basis.

Also Read | Famous Birthdays on February 11: BLACKPINK’s Rose, Jennifer Aniston and Daniil Medvedev - Know About Celebrities Born on February 11.

"Under the pilot project of the plan, construction of godowns has been completed in 11 PACS of 11 states," he said, adding that the foundation stone has been laid in 500 PACS of 10 states.

This plan is being implemented by utilising the existing budgetary outlays under various central schemes such as Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME), etc.

Also Read | Famous Birthdays on February 10: Tom Hiddleston, Michael B. Jordan and Glenn McGrath - Know About Celebrities Born on February 10.

These existing schemes are being converged at the level of these primary level cooperative societies for the implementation purpose. The objective of the initiative is to establish grain storage infrastructure at the PACS level to decentralise storage, reduce post-harvest losses, and enhance food security.

This plan enables PACS to act as procurement and storage hubs, improving their economic viability while strengthening rural food supply chains.

The initiative intends to reduce foodgrain wastage, cut transportation costs for farmers, and ensure better price realization, thus improving overall market efficiency and financial sustainability of PACS.

By empowering cooperatives with modern storage infrastructure, this initiative aims to transform rural agricultural supply chains and create long-term economic benefits for farmers, he added. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)