All that was discussed in the House through the day
Rs 3,470 crore has been spent on POSHAN Abhiyaan till now
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has spent Rs 3,470 crore under the POSHAN Abhiyaan since its inception till 2018-19, minister Smriti Irani replied in response to a question on the number of beneficiaries under the programme.
POSHAN was not a beneficiary-centric scheme but looked at system strengthening of services for beneficiaries which include pregnant women, lactating mothers, children from 0-6 years and adolescent girls across the country in a phased manner under various components, added Irani.
No plans to dump N-waste in Kudankulam
There are, as yet, no plans by the Central government to construct a nuclear waste dumping station at Tamil Nadu's Kudankulam, Union Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh who heads the Department of Atomic Energy, said in the Rajya Sabha on June 27.
However, an engineered waste management facility would be provided at the nuclear power plant before it commences operation, Singh said.
M-15 can be used in BS-IV cars, but not mandatory
M-15 fuel, made by blending gasoline and methanol, can be used in Bharat Stage 4 cars, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on June 27. This is according to the mass emission standards for flex-fuel methanol M15 or M100 and Methanol MD 95 vehicles notified last year.
Gadkari added that there was no proposal yet for making M-15 mandatory.
The use of blended fuel M-15 in BS-IV cars can result in lowering of greenhouse gas emissions by about 5 to 10 per cent, thereby improving air quality.
Twelve states distributing fortified ration
Twelve states are distributing fortified ration under the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS), Smriti Irani said in the Rajya Sabha. Fortified ration includes wheat, rice, edible oil and salt.
"The Department of Food and Public Distribution had approved the centrally-sponsored, pilot scheme on fortification of rice and its distribution through the PDS. The government of India has also advised all states/union territories especially those that are distributing wheat flour through PDS, to distribute fortified wheat flour through PDS. Food fortification is a complementary strategy to address micronutrient deficiencies in addition to dietary diversification and micronutrient supplementation," Irani added.
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