Govt temporarily discontinues rice fortification under PMGKAY, cites shelf life concerns

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) The government has temporarily discontinued the fortification of rice supplied under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and allied welfare schemes, citing concerns over nutrient degradation during prolonged storage, according to an official statement.

The decision follows findings of a study assigned to IIT Kharagpur to assess the shelf life of Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK) and Fortified Rice (FR) under actual storage conditions across diverse agro-climatic zones in the country.

The study concluded that factors such as moisture content, storage conditions, temperature, relative humidity and packaging material critically influence the stability and shelf life of FRK and FR.

The report found that FRK and FR are susceptible to micronutrient reduction and shortening of shelf life during prolonged storage and routine handling, rendering the effective shelf life shorter than expected and limiting the intended nutritional outcomes.

Considering procurement volumes and annual offtake, rice remains in storage for two to three years. Against an annual allocation of 372 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) under PMGKAY and other welfare schemes, the total availability in the central pool is projected at 674 LMT, including receipts due from Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2025-26.

"In view of these findings, it has been decided to temporarily discontinue fortification of rice until a more robust and effective nutrient delivery mechanism is developed and operationalised," the food ministry statement said.

The ministry said, "The decision to temporarily discontinue fortification does not entail any reduction in foodgrain entitlements and will not affect operations under the Public Distribution System (PDS), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), or the Mid-Day Meal Scheme." As a transitional measure, States and Union Territories have been given flexibility for 2025-26 kharif marketing season, as well as for pending receipts from 2024-25 kharif marketing season, to supply either fortified or non-fortified rice at their discretion, keeping in view operational and logistical considerations.

Fortification will resume once a "more robust and effective nutrient delivery mechanism" is developed and operationalised, the statement said, without specifying a timeline.

The rice fortification programme was launched as a pilot in 2019, initially targeting specific districts. It was scaled up in phases -- covering ICDS and PM POSHAN by March 2022, reaching 291 high-burden districts under the PDS by March 2023, and achieving a nationwide rollout by March 2024.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved full implementation across all schemes in April 2022. PTI LUX MR