The government is likely to announce a new scheme where free foodgrain to as many as 2.5 crore “poorest of the poor” households under the Antoydaya Anna Yojana (AAY) would be provided.
At present, under the National food security Act, AAY families get 35 kg foodgrain per household per month while others covered under the Act get 5 kg foodgrain per person per head at the rate of Rs 3, Rs 2 and Rs 1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grain, respectively.
While the name of the new scheme is yet to be finalised, the purpose of free foodgrain to AAY families would essentially portrait a pro-poor image of the government. Recently, food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said in Parliament state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have contributed nothing to implement the NFSA and yet try to claim credit for the scheme.
“The government is spending heavily on subsidising not only procurement and storage of foodgrain but also on the transportation of foodgrain to the states as per requirement,” Paswan said. Under the Targeted Public Distribution System, AAY was introduced in 2000 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. In the Budget, Rs 1.34 lakh crore had been allocated for FY17 while as per revised estimate for the last fiscal, the government had incurred a food subsidy of Rs 1.39 lakh crore.