Port Blair, Nov 18: Food Corporation of India, Divisional Office, Port Blair, celebrated the “Iconic Week of AzadiKaAmritMahotsav” from 15.11.2021 to 21.11.2021 as per the directions of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India, and Our FCI Regional Office, Amaravathi.
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of it’s people, culture and achievements. The official journey of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” commences on 12th March, 2021 which starts a 75 week countdown to our 75th anniversary of Independence and will end post a year on 15th August, 2023.
This Mahotsav is dedicated to the people of India who have not only been instrumental in bringing India thus far in it’s evolutionary journey but also hold within them the power and potential to enable Prime Minister Modi’s vision of activating India 2.0, fuelled by the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
ROLE OF FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA
FCI’s functioning involves effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers, distribution of food grains throughout the country for public distribution system and maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of food grains to ensure National Food Security.
Since its inception, FCI has played a significant role in India’s success in transforming the crisis management oriented food security into a stable for security system.
The Government policy of procurement of Food grains has broad objectives of ensuring MSP to the farmers and availability of food grains to the weaker sections at affordable prices. The total rice procurement during 2020-21, cumulatively by FCI all over India was 600 Lakh MTs.
Two successive waves of Covid -19 have spelt untold miseries. In such difficult times, GOI, apart from taking all the required measures to fight the pandemic, has launched and successfully implemented a series of programmes/schemes ensuring adequate supply of food grains, free of cost, to the entitled beneficiaries, migrants and other sections of distressed people.
FCI also exported 2000 MTS of Rice during Feb’21 from FCI, Vizag to Madagascar and Comoros, East Africa as humanitarian assistance. Similarly export of 2000 MTs for Timor-Leste is under process from FCI, Vizag which is scheduled to dispatch during November’21.
PradhanMantriGaribKalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), which provides for free distribution of 5 kgs of food grains (wheat/rice) per month for every beneficiary has the maximum coverage of approximately 80Crore people, with a quantitative outflow of approximately 600.00 LMT and a financial outgo of Rs.2 Lakh Crore during four spells of scheme across the country .
Starting from April 2020, this Scheme has been implemented so far in four spells (PMGKAY I, II III and IV) covering the months April-June 2020, July-November 2020, May-June 2021and July-November 2021.
Further, Ensuring timely supply of these additional huge quantities of food grains, across the length and breadth of India and reaching out to the remotest locations was a humongous logistical challenge which FCI could successfully tackle with record movement of food grains during all the four spells of this scheme.
FCI has moved 0.46 LMTs by ship/vessel to meet the requirement of foodgrains under various schemes in A&N Islands. FCI, DO Port Blair has played a commendable role in supplying food grains during this pandemic.
Apart from PMGKAY, the union government has reached out to other vulnerable segments of the population, through open market interventions, schemes for NGOs and migrant labours and non-NFSA allocations etc.
In addition to these emergency response, Union Ministry of Food (MoCAF& PD) has launched a programme for distribution of fortified rice (having 3 micro nutrients i.e., Folic-acid, Iron, & Vitamin B12) to 11.80 Crores children under Mid-Day Meals (MDM) Scheme and to 13.97 Lakhs Anganwadi Centers under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme for the year 2021-2022 across the country. Rice fortification is one major step towards achieving food security to the lactating mothers, adolescent/young school going children.
Accordingly, FCI has chalked out a detailed state wise strategy to ensure procurement of sufficient quantity of Fortified Rice.
End to end computerization, direct payment to farmers’ accounts through electronic transactions and One Nation – One Ration Card are some of the other top most priorities of MoCAF& PD.
