New Delhi

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the continuation of the universal supply of Fortified Rice under all government schemes including Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) in its present form from July 2024 and up to December 2028.

Briefing reporters about the cabinet decisions, Information, and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the rice fortification initiative will continue as a central sector initiative with 100 percent funding by the Centre as part of PMGKAY (Food Subsidy), providing a unified institutional mechanism for implementation.

The initiative "Supply of fortified rice throughout the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), Other Welfare Schemes, Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS), PM POSHAN (Erstwhile MDM) in all States and Union Territories (UTs)" was taken up to address anemia and micronutrients deficiency in the country in line with PM Modi's thrust on the necessity of nutritional security.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), in April 2022, decided to implement the Rice fortification initiative throughout the country in a phased manner by March 2024. All three phases have been successfully completed and the target of universal coverage to supply fortified rice in all schemes of the Government was achieved by March 2024.

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) conducted between 2019 and 2021, anaemia remains a widespread issue in India, affecting children, women, and men across various age groups and income levels. Besides iron deficiency, other vitamin and mineral deficiencies, such as Vitamin B12 and folic acid, also persist, impacting the overall health and productivity of the population.

Food fortification has been used globally as a safe and effective measure to address anaemia and micronutrient malnutrition in vulnerable population.

Rice is an ideal vehicle for supplying micronutrients in the Indian context as 65 percent of India's population consumes rice as a staple food.

Rice fortification involves the addition of Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK) enriched with micronutrients (Iron, Folic Acid, Vitamin B 12) as per standards prescribed by FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) to regular rice (custom milled rice).

Vaishnaw said 80 crore citizens will benefit and the objective is to address anaemia and micro-nutrient deficiency.

The total financial implication of the initiative is Rs 17,082 crore from July 2024 to December 2028.

A total of 27 NABL labs will be used for FRK testing and 11 NABL labs for vitamin-mineral pre-mix testing.

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An investment of Rs 11,000 crore has been made for developing the supply chain, Vaishnaw said.