Cabinet okays proposal to distribute fortified rice under govt schemes

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a programme to supply fortified rice in government-run food schemes to tackle malnutrition and poor health outcomes of a large section of the population, a person aware of the development said, requesting anonymity. The programme is likely to cost the government nearly ₹2,700 crore.

In his 2021 Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that his government would distribute fortified rice to the poor via different schemes such as the public distribution systems (PDS) and mid-day meal programmes. “Malnutrition and lack of micronutrients are affecting the growth of poor children. Looking at this, it has been decided to fortify the rice given to the poor via different government schemes,” Modi had said.

Fortified rice kernels are the basic ingredients that go into enriching of rice with vitamins and minerals. Currently, a federal programme to provide fortified rice to schoolchildren and women is already being run on a pilot basis in on one district each of five states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh.

A staggering number of children and women in India still suffer from significant levels of hunger and malnutrition. The fortified rice programme will especially be targeted at schoolchildren through the mid-day meal schemes, and women through the nationwide anganwadi network.

According to the latest round of the National Family Health Survey, the prevalence of anaemia has risen across age groups. Nearly 57% of women aged 15-49 were found to be anaemic in 2019-21, compared to 53% in 2015-16. A significant rise — of 8.5 percentage points—was noticed in children aged 6-59 months (67.1%), according to the survey released last year.