Earlier this year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced from the Red Fort that ‘fortified rice’ will be made available to the people through various schemes, not many knew what it meant.
On an average, the meal of around 65% Indian citizens is based on rice. However, during milling and polishing of rice, it loses some of the nutrients. In order to enrich rice with required nutrients, rice fortification is one the most trusted techniques. The grain of fortified rice is enriched with iron, folic acid, vitamin B12 which helps in fighting anaemia, promotes better foetal development and produces blood along with help in normal functioning of the nervous system.
Speaking to News18, GM (Region) Rajat Sharma said: “To combat the serious issue of malnutrition, fortified rice will be distributed in all the social safety net schemes by 2024. Rice fortification is a process to enrich the rice with micronutrients like folic acid, iron and Vitamin B12. With the help of fortified rice, the issue of malnutrition can be addressed in a short period of time. The procurement of fortified rice has already started in Uttar Pradesh as we have to fulfil the aim to provide it in all the government schemes.”
GM (Region) Rajat Sharma said in phase one in Uttar Pradesh, fortified rice will be served in mid-day meal scheme for school children. (News18)
He added: “In phase one in Uttar Pradesh, fortified rice will be served in mid-day meal scheme for school children. It will also be distributed in integrated child development services schemes. In all the 99 blocks of Chandauli revenue district and Sevapuri block in Varanasi, fortified rice will be distributed under centrally sponsored pilot scheme. Till date, 0.37 lakh metric tonnes of fortified rice has already been distributed in all blocks of Chandauli and Sevapuri.”
In the process of fortification, the rice is first crushed to a powder form and the vitamins and nutrients are added to it. After this, the powder is then processed into rice kernels which are mixed with normal rice grains in ratios of 1:100 to get the final product. Fortified rice is almost similar to normal rice in colour, taste and shape. The quality of fortified rice is then tested at FSSAI certified and NABL-accredited laboratories.
The distribution of fortified rice has been divided into phases, according to which in the first phase, around 35 lakh metric tonnes of fortified rice will be given by March 2022 to 10.99 crore beneficiaries of ICDS and MDM schemes. In the second phase, around 175 lakh metric tonnes will be distributed by March 2023 to 42.09 crore beneficiaries of ICDS and MDM schemes along with 291 selected districts. In the third phase, 350 lakh metric tonnes of fortified rice will be distributed through various government schemes to 72.59 crore people.
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