In a move aimed to benefit the poor, the union government has decided to provide free foodgrains to 81.35 crore people for one year till December 2023 under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Currently, the beneficiaries pay Rs 1-3 per kg for foodgrain provided at subsidised rates under the NFSA.

“The Prime Minister has taken a historic decision of providing foodgrain to the poor free of cost. A total of 81.35 crore people would benefit,” Food Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after the Cabinet meeting on Friday.

The decision is estimated to cost Rs 2 lakh crore which will be met entirely by the union government, Goyal explained.

The decision comes days ahead of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) ending on December 31, 2022. The scheme was launched in April 2020 to provide relief to the poor during the COVID-19 pandemic

“The Cabinet has decided to merge the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana with the National Food Security Act till December 2023,” Mr Goyal explained.

Goyal further said the additional foodgrain under the PMGKAY, which was started during COVID because of financial stress on poor people, is not needed now.

“To provide relief to the poor the government has made foodgrain under NFSA free of cost,” the food minister said.

Government officials described the latest Cabinet decision as a “New Year gift for the country’s poor.”

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 and UTs.