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Mahesh

24/12/22 20:51 PM IST

Centre extends free foodgrains under National Food Security Act

In News
  • Union Cabinet has approved providing free foodgrains under the National Food Security Act till December 2023.
NFSA
  • Around 81.35 crore beneficiaries who earlier used to procure foodgrains at subsidised rates will now get the foodgrains free of cost.
  • The Centre would bear the entire cost amounting to around 2 lakh crore rupees per year.
  • The NFSA assigns joint responsibilities to the federal and state governments.
  • The NFSA mandates the centre with the responsibility of allocating and transporting food grains to designated depots in the states and UTs.
  • The centre must provide central assistance to states/UTs for the distribution of food grains from authorized FCI godowns to the doorsteps of Fair Price Shops.
  • States and union territories are responsible for identifying eligible households, issuing ration cards, distributing foodgrain entitlements through fair price shops, licensing and monitoring Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealers, establishing an effective grievance redress mechanism, and strengthening the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
Objective
  • To provide for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantities of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.
Coverage
  • The Act provides coverage for nearly 2/3rd of the country’s total population, based on Census 2011 population estimates.
  • 75% of rural and 50% of urban population is entitled to receive highly subsidized food grains under two categories i.e Antyodaya Anna Yojana(AAY) households and Priority Households (PHH).
  • The Act entitles 35 kg of food grains as per Antyodaya Anna Yojana Households per month, whereas 5kg of food grains per Priority Households per person.
  • The eldest woman of the beneficiary household (18 years or above) is considered ‘Head of Family’ for the purpose of issuing ration cards.
Source- PIB

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