INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Government has actually formed a food secretaries' panel to look into modalities of neighborhood cooking area schemeGovernment on Thursday
formed a group of food secretaries from states which will brainstorm on the structure of the community kitchen scheme.Food Secretaries from
eight states specifically Kerala, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Bihar, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh form the group while Madhya
Pradesh's food secretary will head it.Minister for customer affairs, food - & public distribution Piyush Goyal revealed the formation of
the group while chairing the conference of states' food ministers to work out the methods of formulating the neighborhood cooking area
scheme as well as a nationwide food grid.Mr Goyal stated that the scheme will have to be simple, transparent and advantageous for people
We should have compassion towards poor of the country and need to guarantee collective resolve to run successful and transparent food
programs to guarantee proper nutrition to kids, he said during the meeting.Food ministers of states who participated in the conference
included Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and union territory Puducherry amongst
others.The next meeting at the officers' level will be held essentially on November 29 to deliberate on the structure proposition, official
sources said.Mr Goyal stated in the conference that during the pandemic, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) proved useful for
more than 80 crore recipients, as through it, free food grains were offered them and there was no food shortage in the country.On Wednesday,
the union cabinet had actually cleared the extension of the plan till March 2022
Referring to the meeting, the minister said that it was held according to the directions of the Supreme Court.Other problems which were
discussed in the meeting consisted of the evaluation of the status of the execution of One Country One Ration Card (ONORC) plan and
Aadhaar seeding of ration cards.Hearing a writ petition filed jointly by activists Anun Dhawan, Ishann Dhawan and Kunjana Singh that prayed
for setting up neighborhood kitchens and establishment of a nationwide food grid, the Supreme Court had asked the federal government on
November 16 to hold a conference and frame the policy in 3 weeks' time.
