To address anemia and micro-nutrient deficiency among large sections of the population, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Friday approved a proposal to supply fortified rice to all beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) and other well fare schemes by March, 2024.
According to food ministry officials, around 35 million tonne (mt) of fortified rice is required for supply grain to beneficiaries of NFSA, ICDS, PM POSHAN and other schemes annually with an estimated cost of Rs 2,700 crore. The extra outlay would be part the central government’s food subsidy budget.
Fortification of rice helps increase vitamin and mineral content in diets and helps achieving nutritional security. The government annually spends more than Rs 2 trillion for implementing NFSA.
At present, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state government agencies have so far procured and distributed about 9 million tonne (mt) of fortified rice under ICDS, PM POSHAN and the pilot scheme under PDS was being implemented since 2019-20.
Under the phase-wise implementation of supplying fortified rice, in the first phase which ended in March 2022, fortified rice was supplied to beneficiaries of ICDS and PM POSHAN beneficiaries.
In the second phase of implementation, along with the beneficiaries under ICDS and PM POSHAN, fortified rice will be provided under NFSA and other welfare schemes to 291 aspirational and high burden districts assessed in terms of stunting by March 2023.
According to food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey, in the last phase of implementation all the districts will be provided with fortified rice by March 2024. Pandey said that as per an analysis of benefits of rice fortification by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, there was an estimated savings of about Rs 49,800 crore of the expenses incurred in the health care cost annually.
Under the pilot scheme on ‘fortification of rice & its distribution under PDS’ launched in 2019-20, eleven states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand — have reported distribution of fortified rice in their identified districts. Till now, 0.42 mt of fortified rice has been distributed through PDS under the pilot scheme.
According to a recent statement by ministry of food and public distribution in the Parliament, at present around 3,400 rice millers in the country have monthly blending capacity of around 2.8 mt. Food ministry officials said that the pilot scheme has helped create ecosystem for fortified rice. The food ministry has also formulated standard operating procedure for the quality management protocol for fortified rice kernels.
The decision on providing fortified rice comes after the government decided to extend the free ration scheme — Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) — by six months to September-end 2022, at an additional cost of Rs 80,000 crore to the exchequer. The government has so far spent about Rs 2.6 trillion under PMGKAY, which was launched in April 2020.
“Under the extended PMGKAY, each beneficiary will get additional 5 kg free ration per person per month in addition to his normal quota of food grains under NFSA”, according to a statement issued by the department of food and public distribution after the Cabinet meeting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address on the 75th Independence Day speech, made an announcement on fortification of rice so as to provide nutrition to every poor person of the country to overcome malnutrition and lack of essential nutrients in women, children, lactating mothers etc. as it poses major obstacles in their development.
