Q: Which GS Paper does Economy & Development fall under for UPSC?

Economy & Development topics are covered under UPSC General Studies in the UPSC Prelims and Mains syllabus. Current affairs on Economy & Development are regularly tested in UPSC examinations and require understanding of both policy dimensions and current developments.

Q: How is this current affair relevant for UPSC Mains answer writing?

For UPSC Mains, "Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India calls meeting with Food Secretaries of States/UTs" can be linked to General Studies questions on Economy & Development. Focus on the causes, government response, challenges, and way forward. Use data points and connect it with relevant schemes and constitutional provisions for a high-scoring Mains answer.

The press note outlines the government's ambitious Kharif 2025-26 procurement targets for paddy (463.5 LMT) and millets (19.19 LMT) along with several digital and policy initiatives aimed at strengthening the PDS and food security. These details provide rich material for both factual MCQs and analytical Mains answers on procurement, nutrition, and e‑governance.

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India calls meeting with Food Secretaries of States/UTs Procurement of foodgrains in Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2025-26 (Kharif Crops) for central pool main agenda The Department Food and Public Distribution, Government of India called a meeting with Food Secretaries of States/UTs and Food Corporation of India (FCI) here today which was chaired by Shri Sanjeev Chopra, Secretary, DFPD, GoI to discuss the arrangements for procurement of Crops in ensuing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2025-26. During the meeting, the estimates for paddy procurement (Kharif Crop) have been fixed at 463.50 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT), in terms of rice and estimates of procurement for coarse grains /millets (Shree Anna) have been fixed at 19.19 LMT during ensuing KMS 2025-26. States/UTs were advised to focus on procurement of millets for diversification of crops and enhanced nutrition in dietary patterns. In the meeting, several ongoing initiatives of the Department which inter-alia included web-based processing of requests for milling period, mobile app based Joint Physical Verification of Paddy, Smart PDS, Anna Mitra, implementation of Cash Credit Limit for Purchase of Jute Bags, Depot Darpan, infrastructure improvement in Procurement Centers, SCAN Portal for processing of Food Subsidy bills, Storage Policy etc were also discussed. During the meeting, details regarding rice milling transformation scheme were shared wherein custom milling of rice with only 10% broken is to be undertaken. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary/Secretary (Food) of States/UTs, CMD, FCI as well as officers from FCI. **** AD/NS (Release ID: 2162849) Visitor Counter : 2

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