President of India Droupadi Murmu has called for a reduction in the usage of chemical fertilisers in order to save soil health.<br />''<br />''Addressing the second Indian Rice Congress at the ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack in Odisha today, February 11, she underlined the importance of bio-fortified rice as rice happens to be the only source of nutrition for a large majority of the poor people. Stressing that the fruits of Science and Technology must reach the people who need it most, the President called upon the scientists to develop more and more eco-friendly varieties of rice to address the challenges of drought, water scarcity, soil health and climate change.<br />''<br />''Addressing the gathering, the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare said as per Prime Minister's vision to keep our people especially children free from malnutrition, Government has started a pilot project to distribute bio-fortified rice through PDS and provision for this has been made in the budget. <br />''<br />''He said, under the Aatmanirbhar Package Government has sanctioned 1.5 lakh crore rupees for the development of the Agriculture sector. Odisha Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal and Minister for Agriculture in the government of Odisha Rajendra Pratap Swain also spoke on the occasion. <br />''<br />''The President will today fly back to New Delhi winding up her two days visit the State during which she addressed the second convocation of the Ramadevi Women's University and the foundation day celebration of the Gyanprava mission in Bhubaneswar yesterday. <br />