New Delhi: The central government on Friday announced to provide free ration to more than 80 crore poor people under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year.
Minister of Consumers Affairs, Food and Public distribution Piyush Goyal said the beneficiaries, who were getting food grains at highly subsidised rates under the Act would get free food grains until December 2023.
Addressing the media, about the decision taken by the Union Cabinet, Goyal said the Centre will bear the entire burden of providing free food grains under NFSA. The annual cost to the exchequer is estimated at Rs 2 lakh crore.
Under NFSA, the government provides 5 kilogram of food grains per person per month at Rs 2-3 per kg. The families covered under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) get 35 kg of food grains per month.
Rice is given to poor persons under NFSA at Rs 3 per kg and wheat at Rs 2 per kg.
Meanwhile, the government decided not to extend the free ration scheme Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), which ends on December 31.
Under PMGKAY, five kilogram of food grains per person per month is provided free to 81.35 crore beneficiaries covered under NFSA.
New year gift for country’s poor: Govt officials
Government officials described the latest Cabinet decision as a “new year gift for the country’s poor”, saying that over 81.35 crore people will now get free foodgrains under NFSA.
The beneficiaries will not have to pay a single rupee to get foodgrains, they added.
On the PMGKAY, Goyal said the government provided free foodgrain (5 kg per person per month) for 28 months.
Asked if PMGKAY would be extended beyond December 31, 2022, the minister said the scheme has been merged with NFSA and the additional quantity is now not required.
Goyal further said the additional foodgrain under the PMGKAY, which was started during COVID because of financial stress of poor people, is not needed now.
“Financial conditions have now become normal. Still, to provide relief to poor the government has made foodgrain under NFSA free of cost,” the food minister said.
The Centre enacted NFSA in July 2013, giving legal entitlement to 67 per cent of the population (75 per cent in rural areas and 50 per cent in urban areas) to receive highly subsidised foodgrain.
The coverage under the Act is based on the population figures of Census 2011. The NFSA is being implemented in all 36 states/UTs and covers about 81.35 crore persons.
(With inputs from PTI)
