For the 25 million beneficiaries of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), 'poorest of the poor', the plan is to provide wheat or rice free of cost. Presently, AAY beneficiaries get 35 kg of wheat or rice at Rs 3 a kg for rice and Rs 2 a kg for wheat.
Officials said both proposals are at an exploratory stage because of the high cost involved. If it goes ahead, this would be implemented as a separate scheme, perhaps named after a prominent freedom fighter.
Grain for welfare programmes like the mid-day meal or Annapurna Yojana are provided by the ministry of food and monitored by different ministries and departments. In 2015-16, the Centre says it allocated 4.12 million tonnes of grain for these.
It incurs an annual subsidy of Rs 2,800 crore in this regard
Presently, grain for most of these, which is apart from the Targeted Public Distribution (TPDS) programme in which wheat and rice is sold through ration shops, is allocated to most states at Minimum Support Programme rates or at the existing TPDS rate for Below Poverty Line families.
“To ensure that no one else wrongly takes credit for the burden borne by us, we are contemplating selling the grains for free,” a senior food ministry official said.