The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today informed that the Government of India approved the Centrally Sponsored Pilot Scheme on "Fortification of Rice & its Distribution under Public Distribution System" for a period of 3 years beginning in 2019-20 with total outlay of Rs. 174.64 Cr. The Pilot Scheme focuses on 15 districts across 15 states, preferably 1 district per State. 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 under the pilot scheme. So far 3.64 Lakh Metric Ton (LMT) of fortified rice has been distributed under the Pilot Scheme.

The incremental cost @ 73 paise per Kg is uniformly reimbursed by the States/UTs to the Millers for production of fortified rice and shared between the Centre and the States/UTs in the ratio of 90:10 in case of North–East, Hilly and Island States/UTs and 75:25 in case of rest of the States.

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DJN/AM/NS