Odisha Emerges as Top State in ‘State Ranking Index for NFSA’

In the 'State Ranking Index for NFSA,' Odisha was ranked first, followed by Uttar Pradesh in second place, and Andhra Pradesh in third place among the General Category States. Tripura was first among the Special Category states/UTs, followed by Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Furthermore, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu is the highest ranked UT among the three where Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)- Cash is operational.

Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Textiles, and Commerce and Industry, today launched the first edition of the 'State Ranking Index for NFSA' at a conference of Food Ministers of States/UTs on 'Food Nutrition and Security in India' hosted by the Department of Food and Public Distribution.

Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Rural Development, as well as Secretary DFPD, Sudhanshu Pandey, and Food Ministers and senior officials from eight states, attended the day-long conference.

Following consultation with states, this "State Ranking Index for NFSA" attempts to document the status and progress of NFSA implementation and various reform initiatives across the country. It highlights reforms undertaken by states and union territories, as well as creating a cross-learning environment and scaling up reform measures implemented by all states and union territories.

The current Index is primarily concerned with NFSA Distribution, but it will be expanded to include procurement and PMGKAY Distribution in the future. The Index for ranking states and UTs is built on three key pillars that cover NFSA implementation from start to finish via TPDS. These pillars are as follows: I NFSA—coverage, targeting, and Act provisions, ii) Delivery platform, and iii) Nutrition initiatives. Annexure-I contains a detailed list of the states.

On July 5, 2013, the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted, and to commemorate the occasion, a conference was held to deliberate and discuss nutritional security, food security, best practices in the Public Distribution System, crop diversification, PDS reforms, and the storage sector.

Goyal stated on the occasion that India is now completely connected under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC). He congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all those involved in this historic initiative. He stated that 45 crore transitions have been completed thus far, allowing beneficiaries to collect rations from any State/UT in the country. He stated that ONORC assisted migrants during COVID.

Goyal stated that in the future, the digitized, Aadhaar-linked Public Distribution system will be used to issue Ayushman Bharat Cards. He stated that the system is being used by Uttar Pradesh to issue Ayushman Bharat cards. He urged other states to consider using this system to provide both nutritional and health security. He stated that immunization of migrant children can be linked with the system to ensure that they have access to medical care.

Concerning the food subsidy to states, Goyal stated that the deadline for submitting claims for pending dues for the fiscal year 2019-20 is August 15, 2022. He reiterated that no late fees will be accepted after the deadline. He also stated that the pending bills of the states and territories that will finalize the audited accounts with supporting documents by August 15, 2022, will be cleared within 60 days (October 15, 2022). However, the states/UTs that provide details in the next three months (July-September 2022), will have their bills paid by January 31, 2023. And any states or territories that take longer than that will not be paid any interest.

He went on to say that the subsidy claims are pending not because the funds are unavailable at the Centre, but because the states/UTs are failing to provide relevant data. As many participating states/UTs expressed concern about the CAG audit's delay, he directed officials to contact CAG to expedite the audits. He also stated that all claims filed after April 2020 will be digitized. The absence of Telangana, Orissa, Jharkhand, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Nagaland, according to Goyal, reflects poorly.

Earlier, a moderated discussion on food security, rice fortification, and food-basket diversification kicked off the Conference. Vinay Kumar, Secretary, Food & Consumer Protection Department, Government of Bihar, moderated the panel discussion, which included Mamta Shankar, Sr. Economic Advisor, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India; Dr Kapil Yadav, Additional Professor, Community Medicine, AIIMS; Dr Shariqua Yunus, Head Nutrition Unit, World Food Programme; Dr MS Radhika, Sr. Scientist, ICMR-NIN; and Dr Konda Re (India).