PCC president Jayadev Jena has congratulated UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the Union Cabinet approved the Food Security Bill by an Ordinance.
Jena said this is the largest pro-needy people welfare programme in the world. Two-thirds of India’s population, that is 81 crore, would be benefited by the “historic mission”. This would give food security to 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent ofthe urban population, he said.
He pointed out that the Central Government would give subsidy to the tune of Rs1 lakh 25 thousand crore annually for this programme. The Central Government would subsidise 612 lakh tonnes of food grains and 11 crore of school students would get nutritious food under the midday meal scheme. Every poor person would get 5 kg of rice at the rate of Rs3, wheat at Rs2 and Bajra at Rs1 every month.