India: Punjab Silos

India has been successful in developing agriculture in its fertile northern belt, resulting in an abundance of grain. Unfortunately, its ability to store it has lagged behind. Today, India has neither the capacity nor facilities to store grain safely, leading to excessive losses through exposure, deterioration and pests. Poor inventory management has only added to the problem. In response, the Government of Punjab, India’s leading agricultural state, turned to IFC to structure a pilot public-private partnership to address this issue. The resulting concession—the first of its kind in India at the state level—was awarded in May 2010.