Postharvest technology for rice in India: a changing scenario
Pallab Kumar Chattopadhyay
India produces about 93 million tons of rice, which is about
one-fifth of world production. India is the second-largest rice-
producing country in the world. More than 200 commercial
rice varieties of indica subspecies are grown on an area of
about 45 million hectares, with 25% irrigated area. Yield aver-
ages 2,086 kg ha–1 (FAI 2003). Rice provides an occupation
for more laborers than any other industry in India. About two-
thirds of the production is retained by producers for their own
consumption and for seed. Of the total quantity of rice avail-
able, about 10% is processed into products such as beaten rice,
puffed rice, puffed paddy, and deep-fried products such as
papads and chakli, and fermented products such as idli, dosa,
and uthapam. India exports rice valued at about US$1.4 bil-
lion, of which Basmati is $420 million and non-Basmati is
$980 million (MFPI 2003).
Development of a modernization program
In 1955, the government of India set up a committee to exam-
ine the problems concerning the development of a rice-milling
industry. It recommended that preference be given to sheller-
type mills over the existing metallic huller. On the basis of
these recommendations, the government promulgated the Rice
Milling Industry (Regulation and Licensing) Act and the Rules
thereof for regulating the industry. In 1963, the government,
under the Intensive Agricultural Development Program, along
with the Ford Foundation, undertook a study on the rice-mill-
ing industry. Seven modern rice mills of rubber-roll sheller
type were imported from Japan and Germany and were set up
in seven rice-growing states. The remaining components,
namely, parboiling plants, mechanical dryers, silos, and me-
chanical handling and conveying equipment, were constructed
and fabricated in the country. A report submitted in 1968 (MA
1971) showed that modern mills gave a substantial increase in
total rice outturn and head-rice yield for both raw and par-
boiled paddy over existing sheller mills and a much higher
increase over existing huller mills (Table 1). Further, modern
mills yielded by-products (husk and bran) separately for bet-
ter end uses. Mechanical drying increased yield by 1–2%, and
the improved technique of parboiling in conjunction with me-
chanical drying increased yield by 2%. With silo storage, esti-
mated additional yield ranged from 2% to 4%.
The government of India recognized that there was vast
potential for improving the entire postharvest technology of
the paddy/rice system. Accordingly, the Rice Milling Industry
(Regulation) Act, 1958, and Rice Milling Industry (Regula-
tion and Licensing) Rules, 1959, were amended in 1968 and
1970, respectively. In the initial phase, a battery of hullers,
huller-cum-sheller combinations, and shellers in the organized
sector was brought under the purview of modernization. The
294 Rice is life: scientific perspectives for the 21st century
Table 1. Mean average percentages of additional outturns of total
rice and head rice obtained in modern mills versus conventional
mills for raw and parboiled paddy.
Mean average percentage of additional outturns
of rice in modern mills versus conventional mills
Type of paddy
milled Total rice Head rice
Sheller Huller Sheller Huller
Raw 2.5 6.6 6.1 15.1
(0.8–4.2)a (1.8–12.5) (1.9–12.9) (6.9–24.7)
Parboiled 0.8 1.6 1.3 4.1
(0.0–1.3) (0.3–2.5) (0.8–2.5) (1.0–8.5)
aNumbers in parentheses represent the variations of actual additional outturns from
different varieties of paddy and over different mills. Source: MA (1971).
single hullers were left out for the pending development and
supply of modern equipment of the same capacity (250 to 300
kg h–1) in the country.
Apart from the seven modern rice mills initially set up
in the pilot study, the Food Corporation of India established
25 modern rice mills without including silo storage. In addi-
tion, the cooperative and private sector together established
55 modern rice mills and modernized 51 existing mills.
Modernization of huller rice mills
Over the years, several designs of low-cost mini rice mills be-
came available in the country. In July 1976, by an amendment
to the Rice Mill Industry Rules, provision was made for the
gradual modernization of single-huller mills by adding rub-
ber-roll shellers or centrifugal dehuskers, paddy cleaners, and
separators. A huller subsidy scheme with 50% of the cost of
modernization provided to each beneficiary was being imple-
mented in six states to encourage the modernization of huller
mills.
Modernization of paddy parboiling
During the 1950s, the Indian Council of Medical Research
sponsored research at the Central Food Technological Research
Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, and Jadavpur University, Calcutta,
for improving the parboiling and drying processes as well as
nutritional and cooking quality of rice. In 1957-58, the Minis-
try of Food and Agriculture recommended the new technique
of parboiling developed by CFTRI for popularization.
Modernization of paddy/rice storage
In 1965-66, the “Save Grain Campaign” was organized by the
government, covering 19 states/union territories to popularize
an effective method of grain storage among farmers, traders,
 Number of modern mills
33,557
32,200
30,100
25,000
1991 1992 1993 1994
Fig. 1. Growth of modern rice mills. Source: MFPI (2003).
etc. The Indian Grain Storage Institute was established at Hapur,
with two substations at Ludhiana and Bapatla for conducting
applied research, development, and training in grain storage
with the assistance of the United Nations Development
Programme. Storage structures made of steel, concrete, and
metal-plastic combinations at the farmers’ level were being
popularized, initiated through assistance received from the
United Kingdom and Netherlands Freedom From Hunger Cam-
paign, and USAID.
Training, research, and extension
The government established in 1970 a full-fledged Rice Pro-
cess Engineering Centre (presently, Post Harvest Technology
Centre) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, to
provide training facilities at the Bachelor, Masters, and Ph.D.
levels, and short-term training courses for rice mill engineers,
managers, and operators. The Ministry of Food Processing
Industries (MFPI) has been sponsoring various research and
development activities through this Centre as well as the Paddy
Processing Research Centre, Thanjavur. MFPI has also set up
a technical cell to assist the industry by providing technical
assistance and consultancy service. In addition, extension and
training work was undertaken through a network of ten regional
extension service centers. Grant-in-aid is being provided to
various institutions to promote research and development, ex-
tension, and training work on postharvest technology for rice.
Development of modern equipment
Realizing that the country would require modern rice-milling
equipment on a large scale, three manufacturers were initially
given licenses to manufacture machinery with suitable modi-
fications in collaboration with the companies from where seven
modern mills were imported for the pilot study.
To encourage the production of good-quality rice mills
and allied machinery by various manufacturers, four testing
centers were set up in four different regions of the country to
34,668 34,668 34,668 35,088
34,110
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Year
undertake testing of mill machinery according to standards
prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Present position of the industry
Rice postharvest technology in India has come a long way over
the past three decades. Now, more than 50% of the overall rice
production is processed by modern mills, with a steady growth
in numbers (Fig. 1), about 40% by traditional mills, and about
10% by hand pounding. There are now 35,088 modern/mod-
ernized mills (0.5–4 t h–1), 4,538 under-runner disc shellers,
8,385 hullers-cum-shellers, and 91,287 metallic hullers (MFPI
2003).
Fifty percent of the total paddy production is parboiled.
The CFTRI method of parboiling is used mostly by modern
mills to drastically reduce soaking time and improve rice qual-
ity. However, the age-old practices of premilling treatments at
the village level and traditional parboiling methods are still
being followed in some commercial mills.
Drying of paddy is carried out by sun drying in open
drying yards and/or by mechanical drying in L.S.U.-type dry-
ers in commercial mills.
The estimated losses in storage and handling are about
10%. About 70% of the produce is stored by farmers in small
indigenous storage structures with some modifications and
made of locally available materials. The commercial-scale use
of bag storage of paddy/rice in godowns is common.
Out of a potential availability of 1 million t of bran oil,
only 0.5 million t is produced from 3.4 million t of bran, two-
thirds of which is of edible grade and the rest is of industrial
grade. A part of the edible quality is consumed via root blend-
ing or hydrogenation. About 70,000–80,000 t of the oil are
used for direct cooking purposes. De-oiled bran is mainly used
for cattle feed.
Rice husks are primarily used as fuel in husk-fired fur-
naces to produce steam through a boiler for parboiling, run-
Session 10: Postharvest technology for efficient processing and distribution of rice 295
ning the mill using a steam engine and hot air for drying. Pro-
ducer gas is being produced from husks as fuel for a diesel
engine to run the mill and to generate electricity. Husks are
also being used commercially to produce furfural.
At present in India, a large number of trained technical
personnel are available. Many research workers are actively
involved in rice postharvest technology research. India manu-
factures and also exports all types of rice-processing machin-
ery and equipment. India also provides training to foreign per-
sonnel.
Constraints and concerns
There have been several problems with the modern large-ca-
pacity rice mills: the inadequate supply of paddy for continu-
ous operation throughout the year, controls and restrictions
imposed by the government with regard to price, a levy, and
movement for paddy and rice. The high capital cost for silos
prohibits the use of integrated units. Because of the unavail-
ability of good-quality rice bran and its inadequate timely col-
lection from the mills, the use of bran is very poor. A genuine
need exists for efficient low-cost mini rice mills to replace the
existing metallic hullers.
Development of a far-infrared radiation dryer for grain
Yasuyuki Hidaka, Kotaro Kubota, and Tomohiko Ichikawa
Drying, especially for rice, is an important postharvest pro-
cess in monsoon climate areas such as Japan, where there is
much precipitation during the harvest period. The Japanese
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries has taught farm-
ers to dry crops within 8 hours after harvest.
Currently in Japan, heated-air (HA) drying by burning
kerosene is regularly used for artificial grain drying. However,
to maintain grain quality, the combustion heat is mixed with
ambient air and its temperature is lowered to about 40 to 50
°C. Heat energy cannot be used effectively because of the need
to maintain grain quality. Although the HA dryer has evolved,
its capability is limited from the energy viewpoint.
The applicability of far-infrared radiation (FIR) to grain
drying was investigated earlier by Harry and David (1959) and
then by Faulkner and Wratten (1969). FIR radiation can effi-
ciently transfer energy to an object. Moreover, the wavelength
of FIR is 2.5 to 1,000 µm, and grain has an infrared absorption
wavelength in this range. For this reason, FIR can be used to
heat grain efficiently. Heat emission causes very little energy
loss in transmitting drying energy to the grain.
In Japan, the possibility of FIR drying for rough rice
was also evaluated by Bekki (1991) and Matusoka (1990). Itoh
et al (1994) and Mouri and Huoqing (1996) also explored the
possible application of FIR to other agricultural products. In
their studies, they acquired basic drying data for rough rice
using an electric heater. However, they needed to change the
296 Rice is life: scientific perspectives for the 21st century
Even though sufficient systematic development has been
made and experience has been gained, much remains to be
done for rice postharvest technology to play an important role
in the proper use of valuable resources and in contributing
substantially toward Indian economic growth.
References
FAI (Fertilizer Association of India). 2003. Fertilizer statistics. New
Delhi (India): FAI.
MA (Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India). 1971. Modern
versus traditional rice mills—a performance study. Delhi (In-
dia): MA.
MFPI (Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of In-
dia). 2003. Annual report. New Delhi (India): MFPI.
Notes
Author’s address: Professor, Post Harvest Technology Centre, Agri-
cultural and Food Engineering Department, Indian Institute
of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India.
dryer structure and modify it to use an FIR electric heater, so
that it was difficult to develop commercial models.
We decided to use a design including the FIR body with
a kerosene burner in the recirculating batch dryer because it is
widely used in Japan.
Schematic of the FIR dryer
The concept of an FIR dryer and an HA dryer is shown in
Figure 1. The HA dryer heats the air to 40 to 50 °C by mixing
the flame and the ambient air, and passes the heated air through
the grain layer. The FIR dryer converted thermal energy by
heating an FIR body with a kerosene burner. Moreover, ex-
haust heat was reused for drying to increase drying efficiency.
The FIR body was made from a stainless-steel pipe coated
with silicone resin. FIR body surface areas were 1.6 to 3.6 m2.
The rate of radiation was 0.9, and the FIR body surface tem-
perature was 300 to 500 °C. The center of the wavelength was
4.3 to 5.2 µm as determined by Wien’s displacement law. An
electromagnetic wave containing far-infrared radiation is gen-
erated. These spectra are the absorption band of water. More-
over, 30–50% of the input energy was converted into FIR.
The FIR body was useful wherever installed. Two types
of dryers are used, one with the FIR body installed in the dry-
ing chamber and the other with it installed in the space be-