{"id":90555,"date":"2026-03-01T10:22:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T04:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=90555"},"modified":"2026-03-02T11:10:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T05:40:27","slug":"rice-fortification-suspended","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/rice-fortification-suspended\/","title":{"rendered":"Rice Fortification Scheme Suspended \u2013 Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Rice Fortification Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Centre has temporarily discontinued the Rice Fortification Scheme under PMGKAY and allied schemes, citing findings from an IIT Kharagpur study on nutrient stability.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Background of the Rice Fortification Scheme<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rice fortification was introduced as a nutritional intervention to address widespread anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies in India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under this initiative, Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK), enriched with iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12, were blended with regular rice and distributed through welfare schemes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scheme was implemented under the <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pmgkay\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (PMGKAY), as well as through the Public Distribution System (PDS), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The objective was to provide essential micronutrients to vulnerable populations, particularly women and children, by leveraging the existing foodgrain distribution network.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Government Decision to Suspend Fortification<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union Food Ministry announced that the process of rice fortification would be temporarily discontinued \u201cuntil a more effective mechanism for delivery of nutrients to beneficiaries is identified.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The decision followed a review of the implementation of rice fortification under PMGKAY and allied schemes.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ministry clarified that this suspension does not reduce foodgrain entitlements and will not affect operations under PDS, ICDS, or the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, beneficiaries will continue to receive their allocated foodgrains, albeit without fortification.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Findings of the IIT Kharagpur Study<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government had commissioned IIT Kharagpur to assess the shelf life of Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK) and fortified rice under actual storage conditions across diverse agro-climatic zones.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The study concluded that factors such as Moisture content, Storage condition, Temperature, Relative Humidity and Packaging Material critically influence the stability and shelf life of fortified rice.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report found that FRK and fortified rice are susceptible to micronutrient reduction during prolonged storage and routine handling.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since rice in the central pool may remain in storage for two to three years, the effective shelf life of fortified rice was found to be shorter than expected, thereby limiting the intended nutritional outcomes.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These findings raised concerns about whether beneficiaries were actually receiving the expected nutritional benefits.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Supply and Storage Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to official data, against an annual allocation of 372 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) under PMGKAY and other welfare schemes, total availability in the central pool is projected at 674 LMT, including receipts from the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2025-26.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Large procurement volumes and extended storage duration increase the challenges associated with maintaining nutrient stability in fortified rice.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The suspension reflects the difficulty of implementing nutrient-sensitive interventions within large-scale foodgrain logistics systems.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Activist and Public Health Perspectives<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Activists who had challenged the scheme in the Supreme Court welcomed the move.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They argued that fortification is not a scientific method to curb anaemia and that not all anaemia is linked to iron deficiency.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critics have raised concerns about the safety, cost-effectiveness, and regulatory oversight of large-scale fortification. They argue that addressing anaemia requires a more comprehensive approach that includes dietary diversity, improved public health measures, and targeted supplementation rather than blanket fortification.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This debate highlights the tension between population-wide interventions and targeted nutritional strategies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Broader Policy Implications<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India continues to face high levels of anaemia, particularly among women and children, as reflected in <\/span><b>National Family Health Survey<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (NFHS) data.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rice fortification initiative was seen as a scalable solution leveraging the PDS network.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the IIT study underscores the importance of:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensuring scientific validation of large-scale interventions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accounting for storage and climatic variations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monitoring nutrient retention over time<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aligning food policy with logistical realities<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government has stated that fortification will remain suspended until a more robust and effective nutrient delivery mechanism is developed and operationalised.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This suggests a possible redesign rather than complete abandonment of micronutrient strategies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/centre-suspends-rice-fortification-scheme-citing-iit-study-activists-welcome-move\/article70688766.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessworld.in\/article\/centre-temporarily-discontinues-rice-fortification-under-pmgkay-allied-schemes-595550\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rice Fortification Scheme under PMGKAY has been temporarily suspended following an IIT study.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":90666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,5814,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-90555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-rice-fortification","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90555"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90682,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90555\/revisions\/90682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}