State food ministers to discuss PDS and nutritional security on July 5

A national conference of state food and civil supplies ministers is scheduled to be held here on Tuesday to discuss reforms in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and nutritional security.

Union food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal will address the conference. Ministers of state for food Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Ashwini Kumar Choubey will also be present at the event.

“The key highlights of the conference would include the discussion on the food fortification, diversification of food basket, crop diversification, integrated Annavitran Portal 2.0, reforms in PDS and storage sector,” Union food and consumer affairs ministry said in a statement.

Best practices being followed in some of the states will also be shared for wide replication, it said.

The conference will serve as a platform to reflect upon the challenges and opportunities in the true spirit of cooperative federalism for achieving the transformation of the food and nutrition security ecosystem in the country.

India’s Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 is the largest public food-security programme in the world. This system manages the food security requirements of around 80 crore beneficiaries across India, through the country-wide network of more than 5.33 lakh fair price shops.

The food security response of the government through Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) combined with One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) during COVID-19 pandemic served as a lifeline for the people and is being hailed globally as a shining example for its efficiency and sensitivity towards poor and vulnerable sections of the society, it added.