Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma lauds Centre's decision to extend free food to 814 million Indians till December 2023

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma lauded the Union Cabinet's decision to extend free food grains supply under NFSA by another year covering 81.4 cr beneficiaries.

Taking to his Twitter handle, the CM wrote, " This will help meet the nutritional requirement of the needy...the Govt led by Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji is committed to the welfare of all sections of the society."

Earlier on December 23, the Centre decided to provide free foodgrains to 81.35 crore people for another one year under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at an estimated cost of Rs 2 lakh crore.

It is to be mentioned here that the beneficiaries covered under the NFSA are currently paying Rs 1-3 per kg.

According to the Act, foodgrain is given at a rate of 5 kg per person per month for priority households and 35 kg per family per month for Antodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) families at heavily subsidised rates of Re 1, Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg for coarse cereals, wheat, and rice, respectively.

The Centre adopted the NFSA in July 2013, granting the legal right to substantially subsidised foodgrain to 67 per cent of the population (75 per cent in rural regions and 50 per cent in urban areas).