CBI Uncovers Rs 28.87 Crore Rice Allocation Scam Involving FCI, NERAMAC Officials

Key Points

THE CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (CBI) has uncovered a Rs 28 crore rice allocation scam. On August 27, 2026, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against eight individuals in this regard — including top officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) and three private firms. It is alleged that the government officials in collusion with private entities obtained rice grains at a concessional price, thus, violating the government's Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic), or OMSS(D). The private firms then sold the rice stock to traders for “huge profit.”

Three companies — two Assam-based and one Kolkata-based, allegedly procured 62,000 metric tons of rice (MT) through the NERAMAC from the FCI, under the guise of selling the food grains at “affordable rates to general public, daily wage earners, labor class, migrant workers residing in Delhi and not covered under PDS due to non-availability of Ration Cards.”

NERAMAC allegedly procured the rice stock from the FCI at a concessional rate without engaging in an e-auction— something it is not authorized to do— and then directly sold it to the three private firms. The companies then sold the procured rice in the private markets instead of the stated beneficiaries, earning a wrongful gain of Rs 28.87 crores in just five months between January to May 2026. Of the total procured rice stock, only 50,645 MT was actually released.

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What the CBI Alleges Against FCI And NERAMAC

The CBI allege that NERAMAC officials acted in connivance with the three private firms, and approached the Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sardar Manjinder Singh Sirson on January 7, 2026, seeking allocation without e-auction. Delhi government forwarded the proposal to FCI on April 8, 2026, who approved the allocation on the same day. This enabled the private firms to procure the rice stock at a cheaper rate.

The agency has accused officials of the FCI, NERAMC, and Delhi government of skirting established rules to procure the rice at a concessional rate of Rs 23,200 per metric tons under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) — a central government scheme which allows the FCI to sell surplus food grains, specifically wheat and rice, from the central pool into the open market. The current pan-India reserve price for rice under the scheme e-auction is ₹28,900 per MT for the crop year 2025–26.

The CBI says that NERAMAC was not authorized to receive the rice stock from the FCI without participating in an e-auction. The FIR claims that this practice violated the policy related to food grains procurement, as non-auction allocations are restricted exclusively to state government or state corporations. 

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If the FCI were to sell the 50,645 MT rice stock via e-auction at the applicable reserve price of Rs 28,900 per MT, instead of being selling at the concessional rate of Rs 23,200 per MT, it would have earned around Rs 28.87 crore.

Who Has Been Named in the FIR?

The FIR has named three FCI officials, four NERAMC officials, two heads of the private entities, and some unnamed public servants and other unknown persons in connection with this alleged scam. From FCI, the accused are — Delhi Region General Manager Kunhiraman Padmini Asha, then AGM (Sales) Brahm Prakash and then Manager (Sales) Amarendra Vikram. From NERAMAC — Managing Director Bhaskar Barua, then Additional General Manager Anjal Kumar Dutta, and then Deputy Manager (Agri-Business) Dilip Saha have been named in the FIR. And from the three private firms — Rajesh Bajaj, Director of Utapalakshi Agro Products and Dibesh Commercials, and Pankaj Saraf, partner of Super Grains. 

(Edited by Agniva Ray)