Lok Sabha Question No. 3342 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-23
Subject: Fortification Process
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Margani Bharat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MtNtsTRy oF coNsuMER AFFAIRS, FOOD &  pUBLtC  DISTRIBUTaON

## DEPARTMEI{T  OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DTSTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED OUESTTON  NO.3342 TO BE AilSWERED OIII 23RD MARCH, 2022

## FORT!F!CATION  PROCESS

## 3342. SHRI MARGANI BHARAT:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND  pUBLtc DlsrRtBUTlor sqfrrr  qrqt,  erq *< qrffir G-rrur  {* be pteased  to state:

- (a) whether it is true that fortification  with micronutrients  is one of the suitable methods to combat matnutrition in the countryi
- (b) if so, the efforts made by the Government to fortfyr rice and wheat to provide nutritional  food and also make better tndia.s ranking in the Global Hunger lndex and GIobal Food Security tndex;
- (c) the details of the co.ntryts capacity of fortification  of rice in view ol 2l3rd lndians using rice as staple diet and per capita consumption belng nearly 7 kgs per month;
- (d)  whether existing rice miils have to be upgraded for fortification and, If so, the details thereof;
- (e)  whether the Ministry is considering to give some incentives  to rice mills; and
- (O if so, the deta:ls in this regard?

ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONSUMER  AFFAIRS,  FOOD & PUBLIG DISTRIBUTION (sADHVt  NTRANJAN  JYOTI)

- (b): Government of lndia has impremented the  pirot  proiect on rice fortification  for a period of 3 years beginning  in 2o19-2o. As on {s.o3.2o22, eleven ({ 1) States namely  Andhra  pradesh,  Gularat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Ghhattisgarh,  Uttar Pradesh,  Odisha, Telangana,  Madhya  pradesh, uttarakhand and Jharkhand  have distributed 4.22 Lakh Metric Ton (LMT) fortified  rice. tn addition,  the Government of lndia has also made efforts  to put in ptace a suitabfe ecosystem for fortified rice in the country  anctudang all relevant  stakehotders tike states, industries, Fortified  Rice Kernel (FRK) manufacturers,  research institutlons and development partners.  Advisories have also been issued to states/UTs to consider distributing  fortified atta as per Food safety standards  Authority of  tndia (FssAl) standards. strategies to effectively  tackte hunger are atready in place under the National Food security Act (NFSA), which has a maximum coverage of 81.35 crore persons an the country. tn addition, free of cost foodgrains  have been distributed to nearly 8o crore beneficiaries  under  pradhan  Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yolana (PMGKAY)  for a totat period of i9 months during 2O2O-21  and 2O21-22.
- (c): For full scaling up of suppty of fortified rice under Targeted  public Distribution  system (TPDS),  tntegrated Ghild Development  services (tcDs), Pradhan Mantrl Poshan shakti Nirman (pM-posHAN)  and other welfare schemes (ows)' an annual quantity of about 3so LMT of fortified rice would be required.
- (d): As per information avaitabte, currenfly around 34oo rice mills in the country have blending equipment  having cumutative monthty blending capacity of approximately 28.o LMT. The following infrastructure  may be required for blending  of FRKs and norma! rice for proper  and continuous operations:  (Equipment may ualy as per the existing set up and desired Forlified rice production  capacittl)
- .Storage Bins (depending on the existing set up and capacity)
- rLoad cells/Flow Balancer
- .Vibratory Feeder (Galibrated  as per desired  production  capacity)
- o  Elevators
- oBtender  (for the rice milts where modification  of cylindricat grader is not teasible or cytindricat grader  is not avaatible)
- .  Programmable Logical  Gontrots (pLC) (electrical)
- oOther  ancillary machineries  (e.g. hopper, !id, agitator, magnet, electric motor, control system  etc.)
- (e) & (o: The incrementar  cost of rice fortification  is paid in addition to the normal cost of rice to the States/UTs.

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