The Government of India has fixed a paddy procurement target of 708.64 lakh tonnes (LMT) for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2026–27, as it prepares to strengthen foodgrain procurement, storage and distribution systems across the country.
The target was finalised following discussions with States and Union Territories at a meeting of State Food Secretaries chaired by Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD) Secretary Sanjeev Chopra in New Delhi. Senior officials from States, Union Territories and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) participated in the meeting.
A major focus was the rollout of Improved Rice under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and other welfare schemes. Under revised specifications, the permissible level of broken grains in raw rice will be reduced from 25 per cent to 10 per cent, while for parboiled rice it will come down from 16 per cent to 5 per cent.
Procurement of Improved Rice will begin from KMS 2026–27 and will gradually be expanded across procuring States. States have been advised to assess existing milling capacities and undertake necessary upgrades for phased implementation.
The Centre also discussed procurement of coarse grains and millets. States have estimated procurement of 18.85 LMT of coarse grains during KMS 2026–27. In the previous season, procurement of coarse grains and millets reached 16.38 LMT, the highest in five years.
Technology will play a larger role in the new procurement season. The government reviewed plans to introduce AI-based image validation through the Procurement Centre Smart-Assessment Portal from KMS 2026–27. Online physical verification of paddy stocks at the end of the procurement season was also discussed.
Storage infrastructure was another priority. Under the New Storage Policy, the government plans to create an additional 131 LMT of foodgrain storage capacity, including 111 LMT by States and 20 LMT by FCI.
The meeting also reviewed GPS-based real-time tracking of foodgrain transportation under the Public Distribution System. States have been advised to complete implementation of the Vehicle Location Tracking System by December 2026.
Progress on PDS reforms, including SMART-PDS, e-KYC and mobile-number seeding, was also assessed. e-KYC coverage had reached 90.64 per cent as of July 30, 2026.
Together, the measures are aimed at modernising India’s foodgrain procurement network while improving quality, storage, traceability and delivery of foodgrains to beneficiaries.