AIKS alleges Adani-Leap duopoly in FCI silo scheme
The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has strongly condemned the alleged corporate takeover of the country’s public food security infrastructure, claiming that a “frightening market concentration” has emerged in the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) Rs 20,000-crore “Hub and Spoke” silo modernisation scheme.
Citing a recent investigative report, the farmers’ body alleged that Adani Agri Logistics Ltd and Leap India Food & Logistics Private Ltd have jointly bagged 110 out of 134 silo contracts worth more than Rs 16,500 crore. Out of the projected 60 lakh metric tonnes of grain storage capacity, nearly 46.5 lakh metric tonnes will reportedly be controlled by these two private entities.
In a joint statement, AIKS President Ashok Dhawale and General Secretary Vijoo Krishnan alleged that this duopoly was facilitated with the connivance of the Union Government.
They claimed that the FCI had originally suggested an “anti-monopoly” clause to prevent single corporate groups from cornering the projects, given the strategic significance of national food security.
“The NITI Aayog and the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) colluded during a Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) meeting in May 2022 to eliminate this anti-monopoly clause under the pretext of letting market forces prevail,” the AIKS leaders claimed.
The farm union further charged that the Centre deliberately tailored the terms and conditions of the tenders to favour companies with “deep balance sheets,” effectively shutting out public sector undertakings, smaller domestic firms, and cooperatives from the bidding process. They noted that while Adani is a major domestic conglomerate, Leap India is backed by foreign private equity funds, including the UK-backed Neev Fund and the Danish SGD Fund.
“This state-backed market concentration in FCI silos is a clandestine move to corporatise Indian agriculture and unleash predatory accumulation in the agrarian sector,” the statement added, drawing parallels to the contentious farm laws that faced massive peasant protests.
The AIKS has demanded an immediate reinstatement of the anti-monopoly clause, a strict cap on the silo capacity allocated to any single corporate group, and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) inquiry into the removal of competitive safeguards. The peasant front emphasised that the Government must strengthen the FCI’s independent storage capacity through direct public investment rather than relying on long-term handovers to corporate monopolies.