Fortified rice for all PDS supplies by FY24-end
All rice supplies through the public distribution system will be of the variety fortified with iron by the end of the current fiscal year.
The government will supply 35 million tonne (MT) of iron fortified rice to the beneficiaries of the public distribution system and other social sector programmes such as Integrated Child Development Services and PM Poshan, much ahead of the target of March, 2024, a food ministry official on Thursday said. After the launch of the program to eliminate anemia launched in 2021-22, the Food Corporation of India supplied 17.5 MT of fortified rice through PDS and other social sector programmes last fiscal.
“We are working towards achieving the target of supplying fortified rice under PDS to all the beneficiaries much prior to March, 2024,” Sanjeeh Chopra, secretary, department of food and public distribution said.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs in April, 2022 had approved providing fortified rice to all the beneficiaries under PDS by end of FY24.
Annual estimated cost of Rs 2,700 crore is anticipated for the fortified rice programme under National Food Security Act (NFSA), by 2024. The extra outlay would be part of the central government’s food subsidy budget estimated at Rs 2 trillion in FY24.
Under the phase I of the programme implemented during 2021-22, 1.75 MT of fortified rice was distributed under ICDS and PM Poshan.
In the phase II of the programme implemented during 2022-23, 13.4 MT of fortified rice was lifted by 27 states and union territories for PDS, ICDS and PM Poshan programme.
To reduce anemia and micro-nutrient deficiency among large sections of population, the government had decided to cover “aspirational and high-burden districts” ranked as per the health and socio-economic indicators developed by Niti Aayog in providing fortified rice through PDS in 2022-23.
In the third phase of the programme, the government aims at supplying fortified rice to all the beneficiaries under the NFSA which excludes those consuming wheat under PDS.
Fortification of rice helps increase vitamin and mineral content in diets and helps achieve nutritional security.
According to a food ministry statement, the number of rice mills having blending infrastructure has increased from 2,690 to 18,227 from August 2021 to March 2023 with more than 11 times increase in cumulative blending capacity from 1.36 MT to 15.6 MT.
The food ministry has also formulated standard operating procedure for the quality management protocol for fortified rice kernels.
According to a food ministry official, 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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address on the 75th Independence Day speech in 2021, 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.
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