Depot Darpan Lights Up Food Storage: Real-Time Monitoring Goes Live on May 20

The Indian government declared the launch of the Depot Darpan portal and mobile app on May 20, a digital effort to improve real-time monitoring of food storage depots and ensure compliance with quality standards. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi will launch the platform, which will bring modernization to warehouse operations at 2,278 facilities operated by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), and state/private agencies.

Key Highlights:

Real-Time Monitoring: Managers at the depot can analyze infrastructure, operational effectiveness, and financials through geo-tagged uploads of data, receiving automatic ratings and action items for improvement.

IoT & AI Integration: IoT sensors in the platform track levels of CO₂, phosphine gas, humidity, temperature, and fire danger. AI functionalities such as automated count of bags, ANPR-based vehicle tracking, and facial recognition for security are being tested.

Star Ratings: Warehouses will be graded on two metrics-infrastructure (safety, storage environment, technology adoption) and operational efficiency (stock turnover, losses, profitability)-to provide composite star ratings.

Third-Party Audits: The mechanism ensures 100% verification by supervisory officers and random checks to drive accountability.

Mobile App Access: Officials can monitor depot performance remotely, allowing for data-driven decision-making and infrastructure improvement.

The project is in line with the drive to strengthen food security for more than 80 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act, using cutting-edge warehousing solutions to reduce losses and maximize storage.

Sources: Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), IANS, SocialNews.XYZ, Myind Staff