Karnataka to provide additional 5 kg rice instead of cash under Anna Bhagya from this month

Starting this February, the State government will provide an additional 5 kg of rice to BPL families instead of cash under the Anna Bhagya guarantee scheme.

Starting this February, the State government will provide an additional 5 kg of rice to BPL families instead of cash under the Anna Bhagya guarantee scheme.

Announcing this on Wednesday, Food and Civil Supplies Minister K.H. Muniyappa said this decision has been made following the Union government’s commitment to provide the required quantity of rice to Karnataka. An order was issued later in the day.

Unable to procure enough rice in the market at a reasonable cost in time to meet the needs of the Anna Bhagya scheme, the State government had decided to temporarily give ₹170 per person per month at the rate of ₹34 per kg from July 1, 2023, in lieu of the promised 5 kg of free rice. 

In its poll manifesto, the Congress had promised to distribute 5 kg of free rice to each member of families holding Below Poverty Line and Antyodaya cards, over and above the 5 kg given under the National Food Security Act. An estimated 2.29 lakh metric tonnes of rice is needed every month to supply 5 kg free to the 4.42 crore family members of the 1.19 crore BPL and Antyodaya card holders in Karnataka, which the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had refused to sell to the State.

“Now that the FCI has agreed to provide an additional 2.1 lakh metric tonnes of rice per month at ₹22.5 per kg instead of the earlier stipulated price of ₹28 per kg, we have decided to provide rice instead of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of cash. We are procuring the required quantity of rice at a total cost of ₹536.71 crore each month. The supply of rice will start from this month itself. We have discussed this with Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pralhad Joshi and he has assured us of a consistent supply of rice for the next two years.” Mr. Muniyappa told presspersons.

With this, the State government is likely to spend ₹150 crore to ₹190 crore less than what it had been spending previously by transferring cash to beneficiaries. Since the start of the DBT in July 2023 till October 2024, the State government has disbursed ₹10,452 crore to over 4.12 crore beneficiaries.

Stating that the process of disbursal of cash component for the months of November, December and January is on, the Minister said the beneficiaries will soon receive cash into their bank accounts. “The cash component was not disbursed for the past three months owing to the ongoing physical verification of BPL cards and rate revision for procurement of rice,” he added.