The Prime Minister in his address on the 75th Independence Day had announced that fortified rice will be provided through all central government schemes by 2024.
New Delhi: To address the issue of malnutrition, lack of essential nutrients in women, children and lactating mothers, the Centre on Friday announced to supply fortified rice through government schemes by 2024 in a phased manner.
The scheme will be implemented under the ‘Targeted Public Distribution System’ (TPDS) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman-PM POSHAN and other welfare schemes in all States and Union Territories (UTs).
The Prime Minister in his address on the 75th Independence Day had announced that fortified rice will be provided through all central government schemes by 2024.
The entire cost of rice fortification will cost the central government Rs 2,700 crore per year. The first phase started in March 2022 covering ICDS and PM POSHAN across India. The second phase will cover targeted public distribution systems and other welfare schemes in all aspirational and high-burden districts on stunting by March 2023. In the final phase, all remaining districts will be covered by March 2024.
As part of vigorous implementation efforts, the Department of Food and Public distribution has been coordinating all ecosystem related activities with all relevant stakeholders. The FCI and state agencies are already engaged in procurement of fortified rice and so far nearly 88.65 LMT of fortified rice has been procured for the supply and distribution.
Earlier, the centrally sponsored pilot scheme on “Fortification of Rice and its distribution under public distribution system” was implemented for a period of three years beginning from 2019-20.
Till now, eleven states such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand successfully distributed the fortified rice in their identified districts (one district per state) under the pilot scheme.
