Kathmandu, January 28:

The Government of Japan has agreed to extend a grant assistance of Rs 234.44 million to supply food to districts hit hard by food shortage.

An agreement to this effect was signed between Tatsuo Mizuno, Japanese ambassador to Nepal and finance secretary Vidyadhar Mallik in Kathmandu today on behalf of their respective governments.

The assistance has been provided with the objective of enabling Nepal to procure rice and supply it to the needy population living in the food-deficit districts. The food would be delivered by the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) through its national distribution networks, states a press release issued by the Japanese Embassy.