Editor's Pick: Free foodgrains for one year for the poor

The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to provide free foodgrains to all 81 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year 81 crore people to get free foodgrains for one year. The beneficiary families which used to pay ₹1 for coarse cereals, ₹2 for wheat and ₹3 for rice per kilogram will now get 35 kg of foodgrains a month free of cost for the next one year. The Centre will bear the burden of the scheme, which is estimated to cost around ₹2 lakh crore. Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal said the move was yet another reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pro-poor stand. The Opposition too had been urging the Centre to provide free foodgrains for needy people considering the economic situation, inflation and unemployment. Mr. Goyal said that for 28 months, the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana had ensured 5 kg of foodgrains for free for the poor. “This is another remarkable decision of the government. The Prime Minister has taken a decision to provide free foodgrains for 81.5 crore people who are covered under the NFSA,” Mr. Goyal said, adding that the entire cost would be borne by the Centre. Mr. Goyal said though the economic situation after the pandemic was normal, a decision was taken to extend the benefits of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, PMGKAY and the NFSA to more people by merging them. The PMGKAY, launched during the lockdown in April 2020, was scheduled to end on December 31, 2022. The Centre has said there is sufficient foodgrain stocks to meet the requirements under the food security law and other welfare schemes. About 159 lakh tonnes of wheat and 104 lakh tonnes of rice will be available as on January 1, 2023 against the respective buffer norms requirement of 138 lakh tonnes of wheat and 76 lakh tonnes of rice as on January 1, a Food Ministry statement said. “Though procurement of wheat during last season was on the lower side due to less production coupled with selling by farmers at prices higher than MSP (Minimum Support Price) in the open market consequent to the geopolitical situation, yet enough stock of wheat will still be available in the central pool to cater to the needs of the country till the time next wheat crop arrives,” the Ministry said. Economists and food experts have been demanding that the public distribution scheme be expanded to account for the increase in the population since 2011, and with the Census unable to take place due to COVID-19. “Any sensible policy should have an in-built mechanism for updating coverage annually to account for population increase. Between the last Census in 2011 and today, population increase has not been accounted for in determining the number of ration cards. No one could have anticipated that the 2021 Census would be postponed indefinitely. This means that even a decadal update has not happened,” Reetika Khera wrote in the opinion pages of The Hindu. With food prices high and the poor struggling to make ends meet, the government’s decision makes it a top story of the day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here. The Hindu’s Editorials Fighting cancer: On cervical cancer vaccine for girls Leave quietly: On a new round of political crisis in Fiji The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz When did the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris take place? January 2015 March 2016 January 2019 March 2018 To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 24 DECEMBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Dear reader, We have now made it easier for you to manage your The Hindu newsletter subscriptions in one place! 1. Visit [The Hindu newsletters page]( 2. Click MANAGE tab and then click LOGIN / SIGN UP 3. If you don’t have an account with The Hindu, please click SIGN UP OR If you already have an account with The Hindu with this email ID, please login using the email ID Free foodgrains for one year for the poor The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to provide free foodgrains to all 81 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year [81 crore people to get free foodgrains for one year](. The beneficiary families which used to pay ₹1 for coarse cereals, ₹2 for wheat and ₹3 for rice per kilogram will now get 35 kg of foodgrains a month free of cost for the next one year. The Centre will bear the burden of the scheme, which is estimated to cost around ₹2 lakh crore. Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal said the move was yet another reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pro-poor stand. The Opposition too had been urging the Centre to provide free foodgrains for needy people considering the economic situation, inflation and unemployment. Mr. Goyal said that for 28 months, the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana had ensured 5 kg of foodgrains for free for the poor. “This is another remarkable decision of the government. The Prime Minister has taken a decision to provide free foodgrains for 81.5 crore people who are covered under the NFSA,” Mr. Goyal said, adding that the entire cost would be borne by the Centre. Mr. Goyal said though the economic situation after the pandemic was normal, a decision was taken to extend the benefits of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, PMGKAY and the NFSA to more people by merging them. The PMGKAY, launched during the lockdown in April 2020, was scheduled to end on December 31, 2022. The Centre has said [there is sufficient foodgrain stocks]( meet the requirements under the food security law and other welfare schemes. About 159 lakh tonnes of wheat and 104 lakh tonnes of rice will be available as on January 1, 2023 against the respective buffer norms requirement of 138 lakh tonnes of wheat and 76 lakh tonnes of rice as on January 1, a Food Ministry statement said. “Though procurement of wheat during last season was on the lower side due to less production coupled with selling by farmers at prices higher than MSP (Minimum Support Price) in the open market consequent to the geopolitical situation, yet enough stock of wheat will still be available in the central pool to cater to the needs of the country till the time next wheat crop arrives,” the Ministry said. Economists and food experts have been demanding that the public distribution scheme be expanded to account for the increase in the population since 2011, and with the Census unable to take place due to COVID-19. “Any sensible policy should have an in-built mechanism for updating coverage annually to account for population increase. Between the last Census in 2011 and today, population increase has not been accounted for in determining the number of ration cards. No one could have anticipated that the 2021 Census would be postponed indefinitely. This means that even a decadal update has not happened,” Reetika Khera [wrote in the opinion pages]( The Hindu. With food prices high and the poor struggling to make ends meet, the government’s decision makes it a top story of the day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. [Click here.]( The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Fighting cancer: On cervical cancer vaccine for girls]( [Arrow][Leave quietly: On a new round of political crisis in Fiji]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz When did the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris take place? - January 2015 - March 2016 - January 2019 - March 2018 To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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