The government is likely to achieve the target of supplying 35 million tonne (MT) of iron fortified rice to the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), earlier than the target of March 31, 2024, a food ministry official said on Tuesday.
“We will be universalising the rice fortification programme in the public distribution system (PDS) in the next few months,” food secretary Sanjeev Chopra said at a select media briefing.
Out of 660 districts covered under the PDS, 22 wheat consuming districts would be excluded from coverage under rice fortification to be achieved by the end of the year.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs in April 2022 had approved providing fortified rice to all beneficiaries under the PDS by the end of FY24. Under phase I of the programme to eliminate anaemia, implemented during 2021-22, 1.75 MT of fortified rice was distributed under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and PM Poshan.
In the phase II of the programme implemented during 2022-23, 10.6 MT of fortified rice was distributed under PDS in 269 ‘aspirational and high burden’ districts under the PDS. Nearly 2.9 MT of fortified rice has been lifted by states for the ICDS and PM Poshan programme.
Fortification of rice helps increase vitamin and mineral content in the diet and achieve nutritional security.
An annual estimated cost of `2,700 crore is anticipated for the fortified rice programme under NFSA by 2024. The extra outlay would be part of the central government’s food subsidy budget estimated at `2 trillion in FY24.
The official said that rice blended with vitamins and minerals such as iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 is being distributed across 439 districts.
At present, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies have 24 MT of rice available for distribution through PDS. FCI and agencies in states in those states which follow decentralised procuring policy of DCP states have been procuring fortified rice since 2020-21 season (October-September).
Currently, the rice blending capacity is 15.6 MT per month and 18,227 mills have blending infrastructure for fortified rice.
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 were estimated savings of about `49,800 crore of the expenses incurred in the health care cost annually.
Besides, malnutrition costs the country around `77,000 crore annually in terms of loss of productivity, illness and health. FSSAI has said that over 70% of the population consumes less than 50% of the recommended dietary allowance of micro-nutrients.
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) had stated that fortification of rice with micro-nutrients can be an effective, simple and inexpensive strategy to improve the nutritional status and health outcomes of populations that consume rice regularly.
