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The Government of India has requested the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to enter into an agreement with Rice Mills to increase the supply of fortified rice.
According to Food ministry, "FCI has been asked to tie up with the rice mills in different regions for necessary investments in this regard." The operational readiness of FCI would help in successfully scaling up procurement and supply of fortified rice in a phased manner from 2021-2022 onwards, it added.
The government on Tuesday (November 3, 2020) said state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been asked to tie up with rice mills for increasing supply of fortified rice via ration shops and other welfare schemes. Currently, out of the 15 states identified for 'Central scheme on fortified rice and its distribution via public distribution system (PDS)', five states are implementing it in one district each.
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh have started distribution of fortified rice in their respective identified districts.
The way to scale up the central scheme was discussed in a meeting held on Tuesday between NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Department of Food and Public Distribution Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey and other stakeholders like Tata Trust, World Food Programme, Nutrition International, among others, the Food Ministry said in a statement.
It was felt that "there is a need to scale up the supply of Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK), whose availability currently is at a meagre quantity of 15,000 tonnes per annum," it said.
According to the ministry, "FCI has been asked to tie up with the rice mills in different regions for necessary investments in this regard."
The operational readiness of FCI would help in successfully scaling up procurement and supply of fortified rice in a phased manner from 2021-2022 onwards, it added. Find more...
Source: Online/SZK
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