New Delhi: Odisha has topped in the first ever ‘’State Ranking Index’ under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)’ released by Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal at the conference of Food Ministers on the theme of ‘Food & Nutrition Security of India’ on Tuesday.
Odisha has bagged the number one position in the state ranking for implementation of the NFSA through ration shops, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Odisha is at the number one position with a score of 0.836, followed by Uttar Pradesh (0.797) and Andhra Pradesh (0.794). Gujarat is at fourth place, followed by Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand, as per the government’s ranking.
This ranking is generated by data provided by the states about their food and public distribution processes, vital for ensuring that no one goes hungry.
The ranking, that is based on the food and security index, has been generated for the first time. A similar exercise would be carried out every year.
“The Index has been developed with the objectives of creating an environment of competition, cooperation, and learning among the states; states learning from each other their best practices while addressing grave matters of food security and hunger,” Goyal said.
The ranking will also help create transparency in the system to publish reliable and standard data in the public domain for citizens, he added.