The government will supply over the next three months additional 2 kg subsidised foodgrains under the PDS, taking the total monthly quota to 7 kg per person, a senior Food Ministry official said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the Food Ministry’s proposed to supply extra two-kilo subsidised foodgrains to over 80 crore people registered under the Public Distribution System (PDS) amid nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The official said the extra two-kilo subsidised foodgrains over and above the existing monthly quota would be supplied for only the next three months to all ration cardholders.
Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the government is supplying 5 kg of foodgrains per month to over 80 crore people at a highly subsidised price. Wheat is supplied at Rs 2/kg and rice at Rs 3/kg.