Question : Fortification of Rice

(a) the details of the outcome from centrally sponsored pilot scheme on fortification of rice and its distribution through Public Distribution System;

(b) whether the pilot scheme was considered a success since its implementation, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) the details of scaling up the production of fortified rice required to maintain an uninterrupted supply throughout the public distribution channels;

(d) the details of equipment modification required in rice mills to blend fortified rice kernels with normal rice;

(e) the details of rice mills modified in furtherance of expanding this project; and

(f) the details of tentative timeline by which the pilot scheme is likely to be expanded by the Government to all States?

A N S W E R
MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

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(a) and (b): Under the Government of India approved Centrally Sponsored Pilot Scheme on "Fortification of Rice & its Distribution under Public Distribution System", out of 15 States which consented for the Pilot Scheme, so far eleven (11) States namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand have reported distribution of fortified rice in their identified districts. As on 15th March, 2022, approximately 4.22 Lakh Metric Ton (LMT) of fortified rice has been distributed through PDS under the Pilot Scheme.
The pilot scheme has been useful in initiating the evolution of a suitable ecosystem for fortified rice in the country including all relevant stakeholders like States, industries, Fortified Rice Kernel (FRK) manufacturers, research institutions and development partners.

(c) and (d): For full scaling up of supply of fortified rice under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS), and annual quantity of about 350 LMT of fortified rice would be required.

The following infrastructure may be required for blending of FRKs and normal rice for proper and continuous operations :(Equipment may vary as per the existing set up and desired Fortified rice production capacity)
• Storage Bins (depending on the existing set up and capacity)
• Load cells/Flow Balancer
• Vibratory Feeder (Calibrated as per desired production capacity)
• Elevators
• Blender (for the rice mills where modification of cylindrical grader is not feasible or cylindrical grader is not available)
• Programmable Logical Controls (PLC) (electrical)
• Other ancillary machineries (e.g hopper, lid, agitator, magnet, electric motor, control system etc.)

(e): As per information available, currently around 3400 rice mills in the country have blending equipment having cumulative monthly blending capacity approximately 28.0 LMT.

(f): The pilot scheme is approved for implementation in 15 districts in 15 States (1 district per State).
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