The government said on Thursday it will launch the Depot Darpan portal and mobile application on May 20, with an objective to ensure that the food storage depots meet the highest quality and performance standards.

The move will enable depot managers to evaluate infrastructure, operational and financial performance on a near real-time basis, said the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD).

A total of around 2,278 warehouses including those owned by FCI and CWC and those hired from state agencies/private will be onboarded in this digital initiative.

Depot Darpan portal and mobile application will be formally inaugurated by Union Minister of Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, on May 20.

According to the government, in this initiative, depot managers upload geo-tagged inputs of the infrastructure available in their depot, generating automated ratings and action points for timely improvements. The system ensures 100 per cent validation by the supervisory officers and random third-party audits.

The warehouses are assessed based on two main categories: infrastructural aspects which include safety standards, storage conditions, environmental, technology adoption and statutory parameters and operational efficiency aspects which include stock turnover, losses, space utilization, manpower expenses, and profitability.

Each category is evaluated independently, and the warehouse receives a Star rating based on the composite scoring from both parameters.

Depot Darpan is uniquely integrated with smart warehousing technologies, creating a seamless digital monitoring ecosystem that includes: CCTV Surveillance and IoT sensors, monitoring key parameters such as Carbon dioxide and Phosphine levels, fire hazards, humidity, unauthorised entry and temperature in real time thereby, ensuring security and efficiency in food grain storage.

According to the Department, the IoT-enabled monitoring includes ambient sensor, carbon dioxide, phosphine gas sensor, gate shutter sensor and fire/smoke sensor.

In addition, AI based technology for bag counting, ANPR (Automatic Number plate Recognition) for vehicle identification and tracking, and face recognition technology (FRS) for access control and security are also deployed in warehouses on pilot basis.

Depot Darpan mobile app allows supervisory officials to track warehouse performance anytime, anywhere, supporting better decision making. Automated reports are used in regular reviews, leading to continuous and seamless improvements in infrastructure and efficiency.