CCEA okays supply of additional 5 MT foodgrain to BPL families

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today cleared a proposal to allocate additional 5 million tonnes of foodgrain to BPL families this fiscal, entailing a subsidy of about Rs 9,471 crore.

"The proposal on allocation of additional five million tonnes of foodgrain to BPL (below poverty line) category for the 2013-14 fiscal has been approved," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tiwari told reporters after the CCEA meeting here.

There are 6.52 crore BPL families in the country. The additional foodgrain would be supplied at subsidised rate for BPL families and would cost the government Rs 9,471.22 crore.

This additional allocation will remain valid for lifting up to March 31, 2014, or till the National Food Security Ordinance is implemented in the respective states, an official statement said.

Delhi, Uttarkhand and Haryana have announced implementation of the new food law, which aims to provide legal right over subsidised foodgrain.

Considering the sufficient availability of stock of foodgrain in the central pool and requests received from states, the government has been allocating additional quantity of rice and wheat to BPL families since 2010-11.

As of September 1, foodgrain stock in the government godowns is around 59 million tonnes (MT), which includes 38.3 MT of wheat and 20.5 MT of rice.

For APL families, the government had in May allocated 6 MT of extra foodgrains for this fiscal. In June, it had approved the sale of 10.5 MT of foodgrains in the open market to check rising prices.

The government supplies rice and wheat at subsidised rates of Rs 5.65 per kg and Rs 4.15 per kg, respectively, to BPL families.