Eyeing exports, India to tap AI for robust quality checks, distribution and storage
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: As India manages record procurement volumes at home while cementing its role as a key supplier in the global food markets, the government is preparing to roll out artificial intelligence (AI)-powered automated grain analyzers (AGA) from next year to modernize how food grains are tested, stored and distributed, two people with direct knowledge of the development said.
A pilot project based on this plan was undertaken during the kharif marketing year of 2021-22. AI-enabled analyzers use digital imaging and machine learning to assess moisture content, impurities, broken grains and overall grain quality in wheat, rice and other cereals.
By replacing manual inspection with objective and real-time testing, the move aims to reduce wastage, ease congestion and disputes at mandis, and improve the quality of grain that enters government stocks. This is an increasingly critical task as procurement rises and buffer inventories grow, amplifying the economic impact of even small improvements in quality assessment and stock management, said the people cited above.
Government's wheat procurement during the 2025-26 rabi marketing season reached 30 million tonnes, the highest since 2021-22, while kharif paddy buys in the ongoing procurement touched 41.75 million tonnes as on 20 December. In the marketing seasons last year, paddy procurement was at 76.80 million tonnes, while wheat was at 26.6 million tonnes.
The deployment of the AI tools is also expected to strengthen delivery under welfare schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and the National Food Security Act (NFSA), under which subsidized food grains are supplied to about 80 crore beneficiaries. “Such large
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