Odisha ranked No 1 performing State by GoI's State Ranking Index for NFSA 2022 report

In a key development, Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal while attending the Conference of 'Food Ministers on Food and Nutrition Security in India' in New Delhi on Tuesday announced that Odisha has been ranked as the No. 1 performing state in the country by the Government of India. 

This was published in a report by the Government of India on the ‘State Ranking Index for NFSA’ 2022-creating resilient food systems to optimize the delivery of benefits’.

Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak of Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare, Cooperation expressed his happiness about Odisha being ranked No. 1 in the country and said, “it has been only possible for the foresight and vision of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has also thanked all the Officers of the Department for their continuous effort to achieve this glory.”

The evaluation framework for ranking the Staes and Union Territories is being built on three key pillars, which cover end-to-end implementation of the NFSA through TPDS: NFSA – Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act, Delivery Platform, Nutrition initiatives.

Odisha has implemented robust end-to-end computerization of TPDS operations since the National Food Security Act was put into effect in the State in 2015. Around 3.25 crore recipients have been digitally recorded in a public database that is dynamically updated by 378 Ration Card Management System (RCMS) Centers, one in each of 314 Blocks and 64 Urban Local Bodies.

Electronic Point of Sale (e-PoS) devices installed in every Fair Price Shop

Around 12,133 Fair Price Shops in the state receive 1.87 lakh MT of foodgrains per month from all 152 food storage depots of the Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Department, which have been fully automated with provision for real-time electronic recording of doorstep delivery. Electronic Point of Sale (e-PoS) devices are installed in every Fair Price Shop to ensure automated delivery to PDS beneficiaries. 

The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) Program went into effect across the state from July 2021. PDS beneficiaries can now use their ration cards to travel within and between states, and they can choose any fair price shops of their convenience to pick up their monthly benefits. Every month, 533 families receive rations through the inter-state facility, and over 1.10 lakh families receive rations through the intra-state facility. Out of a total of 12,206 fair price shops, 10578 have been converted to ONORC-enabled stores while keeping in mind the network connectivity. The number may increase once network connectivity in those fair-price shop locations improves.

The pilot scheme of ‘Supply of Fortified Rice under Public Distribution in Malkangiri district’ since July 2021 has been implemented by the Odisha government since July 2021.  Every month 3,138 MT of fortified rice is supplied to around 1.29 lakh families comprising 4.66 lakh members under NFSA & State Food Security Scheme. The department has started supplying fortified rice to School & Mass Education Department for PM-POSHAN (erstwhile MDM) program and to Women & Child Development Department for the SNP program in a phased manner apart from the PDS(Pilot).