street vendor
street vendorReuters

The Centre launched an initiative named 'Clean Street Food' Sunday, aimed to raise the safety standards of street food by training 20,000 street-food vendors in Delhi on health and hygiene.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has partnered with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (SDE) to train vendors at more than 40 centres across Delhi under the Central government scheme  Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), according to an official statement.

The Minister for SDE Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the project would change the lives of lakhs of low-income people and boost the country's economic development.

He said based on the project's pilot in Delhi, the FSSAI, along with the state governments, will replicate this initiative in other parts of the country.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda, while launching the project, said it is a constructive approach to impart skills to one of the largest unorganised sectors of the country.

"The training of 20,000 vendors on a pilot basis is a welcome step, considering there are 20 lakh street vendors in the country. The project will contribute to promoting good health in the country since street food is an integral part of our society," Nadda said.

Under the initiative, 20,000 vendors will receive training and certification from seven training partners, which include the Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council (THSC) over the next four weeks across Delhi. The vendors will receive smart skill-cum-registration cards upon completion of the training.

The Delhi Food Safety commissioner and the National Association of Street Vendors of India are engaged in mobilisation of street vendors across Delhi. The THSC, an affiliate of the National Skill Development Corporation under the Ministry of SDE, will be the trainer under the project.

The FSSAI Sunday also launched a mobile app that enables citizens to reach out to the food enforcement machinery for any concern or suggestion on food safety.