The economic cost of food grains to the Food corporation of India is Minimum Support Price and bonus (if any) paid to the farmers plus

The economic cost of wheat and rice to the FCI is the full cost of getting grain from the farm to the PDS or open market. It is built up as: MSP plus bonus paid to farmers, plus procurement incidentals, plus distribution cost. Option C matches this exactly.

Why the others fail:

• A is wrong because transport is only one element. It sits inside procurement incidentals and distribution cost, and it leaves out MSP and the rest.
• B is wrong because interest on borrowed funds is only one component of carrying cost, which falls under distribution cost. It is not the whole add-on.
• D is wrong because godown charges are only part of distribution cost. The option also leaves out the other incidentals such as mandi levies, commission and handling.

The core concept is the difference between economic cost and financial cost. Economic cost is the full cost to the exchequer, and it is the number used to judge the food subsidy. This links to the Mains debate on food subsidy burden, the NFSA 2013 and the efficiency of procurement and storage.

Trap: aspirants pick A or D because transport or godowns sound like the 'real' cost. The question asks for the whole package, which is incidentals plus distribution.