• At present, the beneficiaries of the NFSA Act pay ₹1-3 per kg. Under the Act, 5 kg of food grains per person per month is allotted for priority category of households.
The Government of India has decided to provide free ration for one year to 81.35 crore poor people under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). According to government officials, the move will cost the exchequer around ₹2 lakh crore.
At present, the beneficiaries of the NFSA Act pay ₹1-3 per kg. Under the Act, 5 kg per person per month for the category of priority households and 35 kg per month for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families are allocated food grains at highly subsidized prices of Rs 1, Rs 2 and Rs 3. is per kilogram. for coarse cereals, wheat and rice, respectively. But in 2023 the government will give free ration to the beneficiaries of the scheme. The decision comes a few days before the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) expires on December 31, 2022.
The PMGKA was launched in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, under which the Center provided 5 kg of food grains free of cost to people covered under the NFSA quota.
The Center has now merged the PMGKAY scheme with NFSA.
Terming the latest cabinet decision as a "New Year gift for the country's poor", government officials said that now over 81.35 crore people will get free food grains under the NFSA.
He said that the beneficiaries would not have to pay a single rupee to get the food grains.
The Center enacted the NFSA in July 2013, giving 67% of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas) the legal right to receive highly subsidized foodgrains.
The coverage under the Act is based on the population figures of the 2011 Census. NFSA is being implemented in all 36 States/UTs and covers approximately 81.35 crore people.
Recently, Food Minister Piyush Goyal informed the Parliament that the government has allocated a total of about 1,118 lakh tonnes of food grains to States/UTs under PMGKAY (total allocation from Phase I to VII).
He said that the total approved outlay for food subsidy and central assistance for all phases I-VII is approximately ₹3.91 lakh crore.
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