Food fortification

Story hook

It is 15 August 2021. From the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister announces that by 2024, every grain of rice distributed by the government — through PDS, ICDS, PM POSHAN, and PMGKAY — will be fortified with iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12. The numbers behind the pledge are sobering: NFHS-5 (2019-21) showed anaemia prevalence rising from NFHS-4: 57.0% in women aged 15-49 (up from 53%), 67.1% in children 6-59 months (up from 58.6%), 31.1% in men 15-49. India hosts the world's largest anaemia burden — and rice fortification, alongside iodised salt + fortified wheat flour + fortified edible oil + fortified milk, is the central public-health response.

The numbers are equally astounding on the supply side. India processes ~350 lakh tonnes of rice annually through the FCI + state agencies + ~80,000 rice mills. Universalising rice fortification means blending ~1% Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK) into all of it — a logistical exercise that brought the Department of Food & Public Distribution + FSSAI + ICAR-IIRR + NIN + FRK manufacturers into one chain. By March 2024, all three phases of the rice fortification scheme were complete — covering NFSA, ICDS, PM POSHAN, ICDS supplementary nutrition, and other welfare programmes.

FSSAI's "+F" logo — the small green plus on a yellow square — is now visible on packets of salt, edible oil, milk, atta, and rice in supermarkets across India. The story of food fortification is the quiet revolution behind India's anti-anaemia battle.

For UPSC, food fortification combines food security (GS-III), public health (GS-II), and FSSAI regulatory architecture (GS-II Governance).

Why this matters for UPSC

GS-II / III routinely tests FSSAI's role + welfare-scheme nutrition + the rice fortification rollout. Prelims has tested FSSAI standards (2020), fortified-food parameters (2022). Mains has set 10-mark questions on the micronutrient mission (2018) and rice fortification (2022).