FORTIFIED RICE TO BE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
In a first of its kind, initiative to ensure food security along with nutritional security, the Yogi government in UP has taken up a project to distribute fortified rice through public distribution system.
Rice is a staple food in many parts of the state. The fortified rice will have food and nutritional supplements with sufficient quantity of iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B, Vitamin B12, folic acid and various other micro-nutrients. It will also be having medicinal values.
UP chief minister launched this programme virtually for model district Chandauli, one of the aspirational districts in the state. All the ration shops of Chandauli will distribute fortified rice from February while the entire state will be covered from the end of this year.
The state government is creating awareness to ensure that fortified rice becomes an eating habit because of its nutritional value.
Th i illb di ib d h h ration cards from the ration shops where the number of people taking the facility of subsidised food grains is more. Therefore, for the section of society that is more sensitive in terms of malnutrition, it will also work as a medicine.
Fortified rice is the normal rice that is to be coated with the required amount of iron, vitamins and micronutrients as a layer over it. Millers will also be benefited by processing this rice and it will also generate employment at the local level in the MSME sector.
Along with this, the Kala Namak rice of Siddharthnagar, which is rich in zinc and iron, will also gain popularity and its demand will also increase. The local farmers will also be benefiting f ii fi di
With assembly elections a year away in Uttar Pradesh (UP), the farm agitation could well give the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reason for concern when it comes to western UP, an area where it increased its seat tally from 38 of 110 seats in 2012 to 88 in 2017. It is from this region, decades ago, that the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader, Mahendra Singh Tikait, organised farmers to fight collectively for their rights, a legacy being carried on by his son Rakesh Tikait today.
The BJP, with its Ram Mandir movement, was able to effectively fracture the famous “Majgar” alliance of Muslims, Ahirs, Jats, Gujjars and Rajputs, assiduously put together by the state’s tallest Jat from the region, the late prime minister, Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Can the BJP, which got a large segment of the Jat vote in western
UP in a series of elections, be sanguine about their support going forward? Will the angry farmers erode the BJP’s hold in western UP? Today, farm protests have brought together the region’s Jats, Gujjars, Ahirs, Muslims, Tyagis and Brahmins on the same platform. Will they remain disaffected, and for how long?
While the BJP cannot take things for granted, it is far too early to predict the outcome of the polls. There are many factors which will come into play. Poll issues, candidates, the strengths and weakness of the Opposition will all count. The BJP has a year to woo back those who have been alienated.
There are several reasons why things could change.
One, west UP farmers, while demanding a repeal of the three farm laws, have not directly attacked either Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi or chief minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath. The latter has not taken any coercive action against the farmers so far. In fact, he is using various persuasive means to convince Rakesh Tikait to budge from his allor-nothing position.
Two, the communal divide, which seems papered over for now, could still play a role in the elections. The agitation may have revived the fortunes of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Chaudhary Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary, but their hopes of a Muslim-Jat reconciliation are unlikely to materialise.
Three, the PM may work out a solution to the farm protest soon as he is under pressure from influential Jat leaders in the region. In addition, leaders such as defence minister and former UP chief minister Rajnath Singh can be deployed for damage control because of his relationship with many Jat leaders, including Tikait.
Four, Ajit Singh could well play a mediatory role. The RLD has been a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Before the elections, Singh might weigh all his options. Despite the RLD’s alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), both father and son lost their seats in their own pocketboroughs of Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat in 2019. As of now, farmers, irrespective of caste or community, are angry with the government. But will this last after a year? Could RLD’s calculations change?
And finally, the BJP has other issues which could win it support. One is the promise of development and the other is to cash in on an issue which has evoked much ferment in western UP, and indeed across the state — that of “love jihad”. Irrespective of one’s personal view about it, stories of Muslim men enticing Hindu women into marriage and converting them to Islam have found much traction among Hindus of all castes. There is also much support for the CM’s signature anti-cow slaughter measures.
The fortunes of the BJP in 2022, therefore, rest on several factors. Will Rakesh Tikait’s impassioned performance in the farm protest wash away communal animosity and reunite the Jats and Muslims against the party? Can the farm movement revive the RLD? Will agrarian distress change the politics of the region decisively? Will 2022 be a vote on emotional lines or will economics play a major role?
As of now, the BJP still has time to work out many of these issues.
THE LS SPEAKER OBSERVED THAT WHILE MINISTRY OFFICIALS COME IN LARGE NUMBERS AND PREPARED TO DEPOSE, OFTEN MEETINGS GET DEFERRED FOR WANT OF QUORUM
NEW DELHI: With Parliamentary standing committee meetings frequently plagued by low attendance, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha authorities are set to reduce the quorum, or the bar for minimum attendance in these meetings.
From the current requirement of a minimum attendance of one-third members, the committees will be allowed to function with just one-fourth members in attendance, two senior MPs said on the condition of anonymity.
The General Purpose Committee (GPC) of the Lok Sabha met on Thursday to discuss issues before the House panels. “We deliberated on many options. One leader even suggested that if the chairman alone is present, the meeting of the panel can continue. But finally, the Lok Sabha Speaker and others favoured that the bar for quorum will be reduced to one-fourth strength of the panel,” said an Opposition MP on condition of anonymity.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who chaired the meeting, observed that while ministry officials come in large numbers and fully prepared to depose before a House, often meetings get deferred due to want of quorum. Many other GPC members shared the same view.
“It’s a colossal waste of time,” said another Opposition MP.
Many MPs have stayed away from coming to Delhi to attend House panel meetings after the Covid-19 pandemic. Some Opposition MPs had demanded online meetings of the standing committees but both Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla are yet to accept the proposals.
While MPs can claim daily allowance for attending the committee meetings, there is some restrictions imposed in air fare reimbursements they can claim.
Parliament has 24 department related standing panels, out of which 16 belong to the Lok Sabha and the remaining come under the purview of the Upper House.
During the performance review of the panels for the fiscal year 2019-20, Birla had sought a report on the attendance of MPs in panel meetings.
According to an official, Birla is also open to shifting MPs with low attendance to other panels to maximise their contribution.