Food distribution scheme

  • November 26, 2022
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Food distribution scheme

Subject : Government Schemes

Context:

The department of expenditure will likely recommend halting the pandemic-era free foodgrain programme.

Details:

If the free foodgrain scheme is not extended further, we expect the fiscal deficit to be restricted to 6.4% of GDP for FY23

Concept:

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) 

  • Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) is a scheme as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat to supply free food grains to migrants and the poor.
  • The scheme provides 5kg of free foodgrain to 800 million households to cushion the poor from the pandemic’s blow.
  • The free food programme rolled out in 2020 has been extended several times, with the latest announced in September, when the government extended the scheme by three months to 31 December.
  • More than 81.35 crore people will be provided 5 kg free wheat/rice per person / month along with 1 kg free whole chana to each family per month.
  • Wheat has been allocated to 6 States/UTs, – Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Delhi and Gujarat and rice has been provided to the remaining States/UTs.
  • This is over and above the regular monthly entitlements under National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).
  • Eligibility
    • Families belonging to the Below Poverty Line – Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH) categories will be eligible for the scheme.
    • PHH are to be identified by State Governments/Union Territory Administrations as per criteria evolved by them. AAY families are to be identified by States/UTs as per the criteria prescribed by the Central Government:
    • Households headed by widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more with no assured means of subsistence or societal support.
    • Widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more or single women or single men with no family or societal support or assured means of subsistence.
    • All primitive tribal households.
    • Landless agricultural labourers, marginal farmers, rural artisans/craftsmen such as potters, tanners, weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, slum dwellers, and persons earning their livelihood on daily basis in the informal sector like porters, coolies, rickshaw pullers, hand cart pullers, fruit and flower sellers, snake charmers, rag pickers, cobblers, destitutes  and other similar categories in both rural and urban areas.
    • All eligible Below Poverty Line families of HIV positive persons.

National Food Security Act:

The enactment of the National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013 on July 5, 2013 marks a paradigm shift in the approach to food security from welfare to rights based approach

  • It is legally entitled  to provide highly subsidized food grains to 75% of the rural and 50% of the rural population under Targeted Public Distribution System.
  • Beneficiaries under NFSA, receive 5 kgs of foodgrains per person per month at subsidized prices of Rs 3/2/1 per Kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains.
  • Foodgrains under NFSA were to be made available at subsidized prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains respectively for an initial period of three years from the date of commencement of the Act (July 13, 2013). Thereafter, prices were to be fixed by the Central Government from time to time, but not exceeding MSP.
  • Besides, the existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana households, referred as poorest of the poor, will continue to receive 35 Kgs of foodgrains per household per month.
  • As a step towards women empowerment, the eldest woman of the household of age 18 years or above is mandated to be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing ration cards under the Act.
  • The identification of beneficiaries by States/UTs is a continuous process, which involves exclusion of ineligible/fake/duplicate ration cards and also exclusion on account of death, migration etc. and inclusion on account of birth as also that of genuine left-out households.
  • It follows   life-cycle approach wherein special provisions have been made for pregnant women and lactating mothers and children in the age group of 6 months to 14 years, by entitling them to receive nutritious meal free of cost through a widespread network of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres, called Anganwadi Centres under ICDS scheme and also through schools under Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme.
  • Pregnant women and lactating mothers are further entitled to receive cash maternity benefits of not less than Rs. 6,000 to partly compensate for the wage loss during the period of pregnancy and also to supplement nutrition.
  • In case of non-supply of the entitled quantities of foodgrains or meals to entitled persons under NFSA, such persons shall be entitled to receive such food security allowance from the concerned State Government to be paid to each person, within such time and manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government
  • National Food Security Act (2013) provides for reforms in the TPDS including schemes such as Cash transfers for provisioning of food entitlements. In pursuance of enabling provisions under section 12 of NFSA for cash transfer, Govt. notified ‘Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rule, 2015’ in Aug 2015.
  • NFSA defines the joint responsibility of the Centre and State/UT Government.
    • Centre is responsible for allocation of required foodgrains to States/UTs, transportation of foodgrains up to designated depots in each State/UT and providing central assistance to States/UTs for delivery of foodgrains from designated FCI godowns to the doorstep of the FPSs,
    • States/UTs are responsible for effective implementation of the Act, which inter-alia includes identification of eligible households, issuing ration cards to them, distribution of foodgrain entitlements to eligible households through fair price shops (FPS), issuance of licenses to Fair Price Shop dealers and their monitoring, setting up effective grievance redressal mechanism and necessary strengthening of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

The Scheme is optional for States/UTs and operates in “Identified areas” in a State or Union territory or any specified area within the State or Union territory for which there is a written consent of the State Government for implementation of the Scheme. Prevailing system of distribution of food grains through the Public Distribution System may continue in the remaining areas not covered under the Scheme

Food distribution scheme Government Schemes