Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Shri Pralhad Joshi launches Depot Darpan Portal and Digital Platforms-Anna Mitra and Anna Sahayata
Our aim is to take the government’s welfare schemes to the last man standing: Shri Joshi
Depot Darpan has potential of savings crores in Food Corporation of India and Central Warehousing Corporation through process efficiencies, Income augmentation and optimized space utilization: Shri Joshi
Posted On:
20 MAY 2025 6:07PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Pralhad Joshi today launched three major digital initiatives — the Depot Darpan Portal, and digital platforms Anna Mitra, and Anna Sahayata— aimed at transforming India’s Public Distribution System (PDS). The launch event, held here today, marked a significant step towards enhancing transparency, improving infrastructure, and empowering both beneficiaries and frontline workers involved in the delivery of subsidized food grains to more than 81 crore people under the National Food Security Act.
In his address, Shri Joshi reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to reaching the most vulnerable segments of society, stating, “Our aim is to take the government’s welfare schemes to the last man standing. The weakest in society must benefit from our programmes,” he recalled the extensive food support provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 80 crore individuals receive free food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
The Union Minister also underscored India’s extensive PDS infrastructure, pointing out that with over 5.38 lakh Fair Price Shops, the country has a distribution network larger than the population of some nations. He noted that, despite global inflationary pressures, India has maintained low inflation levels while strengthening nutritional security through measures such as the distribution of fortified rice.
Referring to the recently released Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, he highlighted that household spending on food had declined by 50%, which he attributed to increased affordability and improved access to essential food items such as milk, eggs, pulses, and fish. He also stressed the impact of the One Nation One Ration Card scheme, which has enabled beneficiaries to access subsidized food grains from any part of the country, thus enhancing portability and transparency.
Shri Joshi, highlighted the exercise of evaluation in Depot Darpan and said that it has a potential of Savings approximately ₹275 crore in FCI-owned Depots through process efficiencies and Income augmentation of around ₹140 crore in CWC-operated foodgrain warehouses through the optimized space utilization.
In parallel with the process improvements, the evaluation has revealed critical infrastructural gaps in both FCI and CWC warehousing facilities that hinder operational efficiency and service quality. To address these gaps and to ensure that all warehouses are upgraded to an “Excellent” grading, a significant capital expenditure has been planned, budget of ₹280 crore allocated for CWC and ₹1000 crore allocated for FCI, he said.
Depot Darpan is a digital self-assessment and monitoring portal aimed at empowering depot officials to systematically evaluate and enhance their operations. Designed to help food grain depots achieve the highest standards of warehousing excellence, the platform assigns a Composite Rating based on both infrastructural parameters—such as safety standards, environmental sustainability, and statutory compliance—and operational parameters like occupancy levels, profitability, and storage efficiency. Leveraging advanced technologies, Depot Darpan integrates IoT sensors for real-time monitoring of environmental and inventory conditions, CCTV surveillance for improved security, and live video feeds with analytics to support informed, data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.
According to Shri Sanjeev Chopra, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, the initiative reflects the vision of a Viksit Bharat and will bring about measurable improvements in depot infrastructure and operational efficiency. A grading framework has been introduced that assesses depots on a 60:40 ratio of operational performance and infrastructure standards. Metrics include storage and transit loss, space utilization, manpower efficiency, and profitability. Depots achieving excellence will be awarded five-star ratings. Smart warehouse technologies are currently being piloted and are expected to be rolled out nationwide by the end of the year.
Further, the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution along with Minister of State Smt. Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya and Shri B.L. Verma, also launched the ‘Anna Mitra’, a mobile app to empower key field-level stakeholders of the Public Distribution System (PDS) with secure, real-time access to essential operational data along with ‘Anna Sahayata’ an Advanced Grievance Redressal System aiming at enhancing accessibility, responsiveness, and transparency in PMGKAY beneficiaries.
Anna Mitra is designed to meet the specific operational needs of key stakeholders in the public distribution system. For FPS Dealers, it provides functionalities to view stock receipts, access monthly sales reports, and receive timely alerts from authorities. DFSO Officers benefit from features that enable them to monitor FPS performance, track and manage grievances, and access detailed beneficiary data. Food Inspectors can utilize the app to conduct geo-tagged inspections, verify the accuracy of stock distribution, and review FPS ratings, ensuring greater accountability and transparency across the supply chain.
Anna Sahayata, a citizen-first grievance redressal platform designed to serve over 81 crore beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) is built on the pillars of accessibility, accountability, and efficiency which leverages modern tools like WhatsApp, IVRS, and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) to make grievance lodging as easy as sending a message or making a call.
In its current rollout, Anna Mitra covers four states—Assam, Uttarakhand, Tripura, and Punjab—and is available in two languages, Hindi and English whereas Anna Sahayata covers five states in pilot phase—Gujarat, Jharkhand, Telangana, Tripura, and Uttar Pradesh—and is available in five languages, Hindi, Gujarati, Telugu, Bangla and English Eventually both the systems will be deployed pan India across all States/UTs as state systems will be integrated.
Both the platforms are aligned with the vision of Digital India, driving transparency, speed, and efficiency in welfare delivery. With such initiatives, the Department aims to harness technology for good governance – making the process of grievance redressal and basic operations more accessible, citizen-friendly and effective, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision.
With the launch of these tools, the Government of India reinforces its vision of a digitally empowered, citizen-centric, and transparent Public Distribution System that ensures food security for every Indian.
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Abhishek Dayal/ Nihi Sharma/ Ishita Biswas
(Release ID: 2129981)