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crore has been released till 15.12.2021 by Indian Railways against the transportation of approx.
5.68 Lakh MT of Fruits & Vegetables.

FOOD MANAGEMENT

7.59 The major objectives of food management are procurement of foodgrains from farmers at
remunerative prices, distribution of foodgrains to consumers, particularly the vulnerable sections
of society at affordable prices and maintenance of food buffer stock for food security and price
stability. The instruments used are procurement at MSP from farmers and sale at Central Issue
Price (CIP) under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The nodal agency which
undertakes procurement, distribution and storage of foodgrains is the Food Corporation of India
(FCI). The distribution of foodgrains is undertaken primarily under the National Food Security
Act, 2013 (NFSA) and other welfare schemes of the Government of India.

Procurement of Foodgrains

7.60 During Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-21, 601.85 lakh metric tons (LMT) of rice
has been procured against an estimated target of 642.58 LMT. In the KMS 2021-22, a total of
566.58 LMT of paddy (equivalent to 379.98 LMT rice) was procured as on 16.01.2022. During
RMS 2021-22, 433.44 LMT of wheat was procured against 389.92 LMT procured during RMS
2020-21. Also, during the Kharif & Rabi Marketing Season 2020-21, approx. 11.87 LMT of
coarse grains has been procured which is highest in the last five years.

Allocation of Foodgrains

7.61 To ameliorate the hardships faced by the poor due to economic disruption caused by
COVID-19 Pandemic, the Government launched Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
(PMGKAY) initially for the period from April to June 2020. However, keeping in view the need
for continuous support to the poor and the needy, the scheme has been extended and implemented
in various phases. Currently Phase V of PMGKAY is in operation covering December, 2021 to
March 2022. Under the scheme, 5 kg of additional foodgrains per person per month has been/
is being provided free of cost to NFSA beneficiaries in all the phases. During the year 2020-21,
about 322 LMT of food-grains and during the year 2021-22, about 437.37 LMT of foodgrains
have been allocated free of cost under PMGKAY scheme to around 80 crore NFSA beneficiaries.

7.62 During the year 2021-22, the Government had allocated 1052.77 lakh tons of food grains
to States/UTs under NFSA and other welfare schemes as compared to 948.48 lakh tons in
2020-21.
Fortification of Rice and its Distribution

7.63 The Government of India approved the Centrally Sponsored Pilot Scheme ‘Fortification of
Rice and its Distribution under Public Distribution System’ on 14.02.2019 for a period of 3 years
beginning 2019-20. The Pilot Scheme is being implemented in 15 Districts (1 District per State).
Eleven States including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh,
Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh Uttarakhand and Jharkhand have started
distributing the fortified rice in their identified districts under the pilot scheme. Nearly 3.38
LMT of fortified rice has been distributed till December, 2021 under the Pilot Scheme.