A fortnight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern about wastage of food in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio programme, the union food minister, Ram Vilas Paswan  has asked owners of restaurants and five star hotels to fix portions in order to avoid wastage of food in the country.

A report in the Hindustan times has disclosed that the ministry was drafting a questionnaire for hotels and restaurants to explain the appropriate dish size they should serve to a customer. Paswan said that they are just asking them to specify how many chapatis or idlis or chicken pieces they would serve in a plate.

In plate system, a hotel or restaurant normally does not mention the amount of food that will be served, like the number of chapatis or the quantity of rice. The government wants them to specify and mention (in the menu card) that how much they would serve in a portion.

In his Mann Ki Baat last month, Modi took up the issue of food wastage at feasts and termed it as injustice to the poor. Food wastage and subsequently food shortage is a big problem in India. A September 2016 government report said that the amount of food wasted in India can feed all of Bihar for a year.