CABINET OKAYS REVISED FOOD SECURITY BILL

• The Cabinet has approved changes to the landmark Food Security Bill to grant the nation’s 67 per cent population the right to get monthly quota of 5 kg food grain at highly subsidized rates of Rs 1-3 per kg.

 AMENDMENTS:

• The amendments to the Bill will guarantee 5 kg food grain per person per month, while poorest of the poor families will continue to get 35 kg of grains per month.
•  Rice will be sold through ration shops at Rs 3 per kg, wheat at Rs 2 and millets at Re 1 in the first three years of the implementation of the Act. 
• Instead of dividing beneficiaries into two categories — priority and general households — with different entitlement and price, the revised Bill proposes only one category of beneficiary with uniform entitlement of 5 kg per person per month at uniform price of Rs 1-3/kg for all beneficiaries.
• The beneficiaries would be decided by state governments, while the criteria to exclude 33 per cent of population would be provided by the Planning Commission
• About 62 million tonnes of food grain would be required to implement the Bill, while the food subsidy is estimated at Rs 1,24,747 crore at 2013-14 costs, which is Rs 23,800 crore higher than the existing level.