India’s surplus foodgrains is coming handy to feed the poor during the coronavirus pandemic. The Government on Thursday added 8 crore non-ration card holders as beneficiaries who would be given free foodgrains – 5 Kg of wheat/rice and 1 kg chana (gram) for the next two months. As per the Government’s earlier decision, 80-crore ration card holders are already being provided free foodgrains and pulses.
Put together, the 88-crore beneficiaries will be provided with 608 crore kg of foodgrains (rice/wheat/gram) till June this year.
The move comes even as ration cards are being portable to allow migrant workers to access foodgrains across states. The ‘one nation one ration card’ scheme will be fully operational by March 2021.
According to the Food Ministry, they hold 24.7 million tonnes of wheat this year, which is more than three times the buffer stock requirements of 7.46 million tonnes. Similarly, stock of rice, including unmilled paddy, was 49.15 million tonnes, against the buffer norm of 13.58 million tonnes. So, on April 1 2020, the country had about 74 million tonnes of wheat and rice as against the buffer stock norm of 21 million tonnes – more than thrice the buffer stock norms require.
Announcing the second tranche of economic stimulus package for migrants, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, eight crore migrant workers migrants who do not have state beneficiary cards where they are, will get five kg of wheat and rice each, and a kg of chana per family per month and Rs 3,500 crore for this would be borne by the government. The central government will fully bear the cost, while state governments will be responsible for implementation and identification of migrants for distribution of dry ration. The government has earlier announced a package of Rs 1.70 lakh crore through which free rations were given for three months to 80 crore poor. The ration card holders were given additional two kg foodgrain per persons due to the nationwide lockdown.
Currently, free 5 kg foodgrains per person and one kg pulses per household is being given for three months till June to PDS (ration )card holders under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojana (PMGAY), benefitting over 80 crore poor. This is over and above the 5 kg grains given at a subsidised rate to per beneficiary under NFSA. For those migrants walking on foot, the Minister said that cooked meals are being provided by state governments. They are allowed to buy foodgrains on credit from the central pool at a subsidised rate for this purpose, the minister said. Even NGOs and charitable bodies engaged in serving cooked meals to migrants are allowed to buy at a reduced rate of Rs 24 per kg for wheat and Rs 22 per kg for rice from the central government. The Finance Minister also clarified that the total number of migrants at 8 crore has been arrived at by counting those living in shelter camps by state governments.
At present, nearly 90 per cent of 23.5 crore ration cards are seeded with Aadhaar numbers of ration card holders (i.e. at least one member of family); nearly 85 per cent of all 80 crore beneficiaries have also seeded their Aadhaar numbers with their respective ration cards.
"This will enable migrant beneficiaries to access PDS grains from any fair price shop (FPS) in the country. About 67 crore beneficiaries in 23 states covering 83 per cent of the PDS population will be covered by national portability by August 2020," she said.
She further said 100 per cent national portability will be achieved by March 2021. All states and union territories will complete full FPS automation by March 2021, she added.
Already 17 states/UTs are ready with FPS automation. These include Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Jharkhand, Tripura, Bihar, UP, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Daman and Diu.