Sanjeev Chopra, Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD), visited the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) Smart Warehouse at Mohali to review compliance under the Depot Darpan parameters and assess the implementation of advanced smart warehouse tools.
The visit focused on evaluating operational efficiency, digital integration, and technology-driven monitoring systems deployed at the facility. Accompanying the Secretary were Rahul Tiwari, Principal Secretary, Punjab; Niraj Priyadarshi, Director (Finance), CWC; Sarandeep Kaur, General Manager, FCI Haryana; Virender Sharma, Director, Food and Civil Supplies, Punjab; Nitika Pawar, General Manager, FCI Haryana; and A. M. Rao, Group General Manager (MIS), CWC.
During the inspection, the Secretary conducted a detailed review of the warehouse’s automated systems and appreciated the integration of advanced IT-enabled solutions. Key features examined included gate and weighbridge automation, CO₂ and phosphine gas sensors for scientific storage monitoring, CCTV-based bag counting systems, face recognition access controls, rodent monitoring mechanisms, and barcode-based inventory management for NCERT book storage. The use of a mobile application for real-time monitoring and reporting was also highlighted.
The Secretary commended CWC for adopting modern technologies that enhance transparency, reduce manual intervention, and improve operational efficiency. He emphasized the importance of developing a structured mechanism to analyze data generated by these smart tools to enable faster decision-making with minimal human interaction.
He further directed that the data streams from various monitoring systems be integrated with the Depot Darpan Portal to strengthen centralized oversight and performance tracking. Stressing the need for wider replication, he called for the extension of the Depot Darpan framework to state warehouses and encouraged states to adopt IT-driven automation similar to CWC’s model to ensure streamlined, transparent, and efficient warehouse operations.
The visit underscored the government’s continued focus on digital transformation in foodgrain storage infrastructure, aimed at improving accountability, scientific storage standards, and data-driven governance across the warehousing ecosystem.