Rajasthan Test 22

Food security is a fundamental priority of the Government of Rajasthan, and the state has developed a multi-layered system of interventions to ensure that all sections of the population, particularly the poor and vulnerable, have access to adequate and nutritious food. Rajasthan's food security architecture rests on the National Food Security Act of 2013, which provides a legal entitlement to subsidised food grains to a large proportion of the country's population. Under the NFSA, beneficiaries belonging to priority households and Antyodaya Anna Yojana categories are entitled to receive rice and wheat at heavily subsidised prices through the Public Distribution System. Rajasthan has implemented the NFSA across all its districts, and lakhs of beneficiary families receive food grain entitlements through the ration shop network. The identification of eligible beneficiaries for the PDS has been a challenging exercise involving survey, verification, and de-duplication of beneficiary lists. The use of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication at PDS shops has helped reduce diversion of food grains by ensuring that only genuine beneficiaries can collect their entitlements. Portability of PDS entitlements under the One Nation One Ration Card initiative allows migrants to collect their food grain from any fair price shop in the country, a particularly valuable provision for the seasonal migrant workers from Rajasthan who travel to other states for construction, agriculture, and other work. The Annapurna Bhandar scheme is a distinctive Rajasthan government initiative that has transformed the fair price shop into a multi-product retail outlet, allowing beneficiaries to purchase not just food grains but also pulses, edible oil, spices, and other consumer goods at competitive prices. By converting the PDS shop into a more comprehensive store, the scheme has improved the economic viability of running a fair price shop and expanded the range of benefits available to cardholders. The scheme has been phased in across the state and has helped address concerns about the limited range of subsidised items available to food security beneficiaries. The Midday Meal programme, which provides cooked meals to students in government and government-aided schools, has been a vital complement to the food security system by ensuring that school-going children receive at least one nutritious meal daily. The scheme has improved school attendance, particularly for girls and children from poorer families, and has contributed to improvements in nutritional status. The central kitchen model, where meals are cooked in centralised kitchens with better hygiene standards and distributed to schools, has been adopted in urban areas. The state government has been working to improve the nutritional quality of midday meals by adding eggs, milk, and fruits to the menu in addition to the staple rice and dal. Nutrition gardens at schools provide fresh vegetables for the midday meal programme while educating children about nutrition and horticulture. The Integrated Child Development Services anganwadi network provides supplementary nutrition to children under six and pregnant and lactating women, targeting the critical window of the first thousand days of life when nutritional adequacy has the most significant long-term impact on child development. The Poshan Abhiyan has brought new resources, technology tools, and monitoring rigour to the nutrition programmes, with monthly nutrition rallies, community mobilisation, and convergence between health, nutrition, water, and sanitation departments.