Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey urged the Food Corporation of India and the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) on Friday to capitalize on the increased demand for warehousing from e-commerce enterprises.
On Friday, Pandey inaugurated the CWC’s 3.5 lakh sq ft Grade A Warehouse at the IT SEZ near Bengaluru International Airport, saying that e-commerce enterprises require urban warehouses.
“I have already encouraged FCI and CWC to part with their facilities in metropolitan regions as part of the company’s asset monetization program.” “We can operate for grain supply outside of cities, saving land and time and getting a higher return on investment on both sides,” Pandey explained.
FCI and CWC have personal warehousing capacity in several regions around the country. “From a situation of warehouse scarcity, we have come a long way to generate capacity and can provide it to the private sector, which is eager to use it, not only for foodgrains but also for other items,” Pandey said.
CWC owns approximately 50per cent of food grain storage, of which 37per cent is used by FCI and the remainder by the non-public sector for grain management.
“In the future, we must be forward-thinking.” Government corporations continue to play a significant role. As a result, both FCI and CWC are not included in the list of possible disinvestment plans. “They are part of the logistics sector’s future journey with asset monetization, where the private and public sectors may develop ties and put the country on the fast track in terms of logistics,” Pandey stated.
CWC has constructed three 5 million square foot Grade A warehouses on 14 acres of land, which will be given over to the Ethics Group of Companies for a 10-year period. The Ethics Group, which administers the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’s (PMBJP) whole logistics chain and warehousing, intends to use the CWC facility to meet the needs of Karnataka and other neighboring states.
Bipin Kevadiya, CMD of Ethics Group, noted that the company provides equivalent warehouse services for medication availability chain management under the PMBJP.
Arun Kumar Shrivastava, MD of CWC, remarked that with land acquisition and alteration of land use becoming a problem in cities, CWC is prepared to collaborate with private players to construct warehouse infrastructure across the country. CWC is building 17.5 lakh tonne warehouses in over 100 locations across India to meet the needs of warehousing requirements, he said.
