New Delhi, Dec 4 : The Centre has circulated a draft of the National Food Security Bill to the State governments for their views. The Minister for Agriculture, Sharad Pawar stated this during question hour in the Rajya Sabha today.

Sharad Pawar said that the government is planning a meeting of all the State Chief Ministers in this regard. Talking about the food situation in the country, he said that 16 states were hit by drought and heavy rainfalls affected several other states including Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The Minister for Agriculture said that the government through various central schemes has taken measures to compensate for the losses suffered during the Kharif season.

Pawar said some states including Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had taken appropriate measures to bring in more land for wheat production, expressing his belief that the country would produce wheat in surplus as it did last year. (ANI)