National conference on nutrition security to be held on July 5

NEW DELHI: The Department of Food and Public Distribution will organize a one-day national conference on food and nutrition security in India on July 5 in Delhi. According to a press release from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on Sunday, the conference is aimed at facilitating cross-learning, disseminating best practices for schemes under Public Distribution System (PDS) and strengthening the focus on nutritional security.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal will address the conference in presence of Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State (CA, F&PD) and Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State (CA, F&PD). The conference would also be graced by Ministers of Food and Civil Supplies of states and Union territories.

The key highlights of the conference would include the discussion on food fortification, diversification of food baskets, crop diversification, integrated Annavitran Portal 2.0, and reforms in the PDS and storage sector, the Ministry said. Best practices being followed in some of the states will also be shared for wide replication.

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, under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) is the largest public food-security program 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 the "One Nation One Ration Card" (ONORC) during the 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.