FNB News - Department of Food & Public Distribution successfully organises AzadiKaAmritMahotsav

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Department of Food & Public Distribution successfully organises AzadiKaAmritMahotsav

Tuesday, 23 November, 2021, 15 : 00 PM [IST]

Our Bureau, New Delhi

The Department of Food and Public Distribution under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, commemorated and celebrated 75 years of India’s Independence as the Iconic Week ‘AzadiKaAmritMahotsav’.

Several activities were organised round the week to honour the essence of united India. However, various organisations under the department will continue to organise activities throughout the year.

On the first day of celebration, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal, virtually inaugurated the office building, Divisional Office Hubballi in Karnataka and Food Security Museum at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu along with a photo exhibition.

In his address, he said, “Apart from working on various aspects of Food Security maintenance in our country, I am happy to note that they are equally indulgent in reaching out to people and making them known among stakeholders through various events, most notable being the celebration of Azadika Amrit Mahotsav.”

Minister of State (MoS), for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwinin Kumar Choubey and Minister of State (MoS), for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Rural Development, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti also virtually attended the event.

In another programme, Goyal virtually inaugurated 50th Convocation Ceremony of National Sugar Institute, Kanpur on November 16, 2021, as a part of celebration of AzadiKaAmritMahotsav celebration.

“The sugar industry is the backbone of rural economy and as experts of Sugar Industry you are crucial to bring Aatmanirbharta to farmers, villages and nation,” he said.

Minister of State (MoS), for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Rural Development, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti also physically attended the event in Kanpur.

During his maiden visit to North-East as a part of ‘AzadiKaAmritMahotsav’ celebration, Goyal announced setting up a mega handloom cluster at Olympic silver medalist Saikohm Mirabai Chanu’s native village in Manipur’s Imphal East district. The estimated cost of mega handloom cluster is Rs 30 crore and will be established under the National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP).

He also announced setting up of a handloom and handicraft village at Moirang in Bishnupur district, where the INA hoisted the tricolor flag for the first time in Indian soil. “It will pay befitting tribute to the freedom fighters, particularly to the soldiers of the INA,” he said.

Goyal made these announcements during the inauguration ceremony of a Thematic Exhibition of Crafts organised jointly by Development Commissioner (Handicraft) of Manipur Government and Union Ministry of Textiles in Imphal.

He attended the 'Janajati Gaurav Divas' under the Iconic Week in Manipur and Guwahati.

A field visit to Fair Price Shops in Uttar Pradesh was organised by DFPD for journalists and media persons of Delhi. The journalists were educated on various activities of FCI, procurement and how Public Distribution System is being done.

A webinar on ‘India’s Journey in PDS Reforms to ensure Food Security’, was organised in association with United Nations World Food Programme. High level experts participated in the webinar and deliberated upon the Journey of technology based PDS reforms in India, India’s experience in ensuring food-security during Covid-19 crisis, Supply chain reforms and innovations for addressing food wastage and storage losses and Role of Operations Research, Artificial intelligence, and other new technologies in transformation of TPDS.

Another webinar on Interaction with Farmers, Self Help Groups on ‘Best Practices in Sugarcane Farming’ was organised. DFPD made direct dialogue with sugarcane farmers emphasising on ‘Best Practices in Sugarcane Farming’. Also, Sugar mills were asked to produce more ethanol for better cash flow thereby ensuring sustainable industry. Farmers shared their best practices like use of high yielding varieties, drip irrigation, soil health improvement. with the department.

Another interaction on the benefit of e-NWR and on advantage of warehouses registration was organised. Over 120 participants attended the webinar. During the event, the division shared that registration fees with WDRA substantially reduced to Rs 500 for FPOs/PACS/SHGs as compared to Rs 5000 to Rs 30,000 for other conventional warehouses.

Apart from virtual events, physical events were also organised. An awareness generation programme for farmers on efficient storage and quality control was organised in which 30 farmers participated. The event was organised by Indian Grain Management and Research Institute (IGMRI), Hapur. The theme of the programme was to share the role of the department in food security management in last 75 years in the country, various refractions of foodgrains and importance of fortified rice.

Also, NFSA division organised a programme under Iconic Week of AzadiKaAmritMahotsava at Varansi. The awareness programme targeted women and children and sensitised the participants about the importance of fortified rice.

Apart from above mentioned celebration, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), has planned 624 programmes in revenue districts in the country of which nearly 140 programmes have already been conducted and remaining will be organised during the year.