Cabinet approves distribution of fortified rice under all govt schemes: Sources

Schoolchildren eat their free mid-day meal, distributed by a government-run primary school in Chapra district (Representative Image: Reuters)

The Union Cabinet on April 7 approved a proposal to distribute fortified rice under all government schemes including mid-day meals and government ration shops, according to sources. The government will spend about Rs 2,700 crore per year on the scheme, which is aimed to tackle the problem of nutritional deficiency.

An official announcement on the decisions of the Cabinet and Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting will likely be made on April 8, the sources added.

Fortification is a process through which essential micronutrients in food are added to boost nutritional quality that helps improve public health.

During his Independence Day speech last year on August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a plan to distribute fortified rice to the poor by 2024 under different schemes, including through Public Distribution Systems (PDS) and Mid-Day Meals.

“Rice fortification, a process of adding micronutrients like iron, folic acid and vitamin B12, is an effective, preventive and cost-efficient complementary strategy to address the nutrition problem within a short period,” according to an article co-authored by top government think-tank NITI Aayog’s Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar in October 2021. “However, ensuring access to and affordability of healthy and diverse diets would be the key to a sustainable long-term strategy.”