Union Budget 2021 | Food subsidy budget set at almost ₹2.43 lakh crore

The food subsidy bill spiked sharply this year, from ₹1.15 lakh crore in the 2020-21 budget estimates to ₹4.22 lakh crore in the revised estimates, reflecting the additional cost of free foodgrain distribution in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the government’s decision to pay the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) burgeoning loans and return to budgetary transfers to fund the food subsidy bill. In 2021-2022, the food subsidy budget has been set at almost ₹2.43 lakh crore. Economists welcomed the Centre’s move, saying it would help clean up the government’s accounts and improve the financial health of FCI.