The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government recently announced free ration to 813.5 million poor people under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year. However, a ground report by Down To Earth looks into whether beneficiaries have received Public Distribution System (PDS) benefits under existing schemes.
DTE visited several areas in the first fortnight of December, including a tribal village in Jharkhand, to know the ground reality.
NFSA was implemented in 2013 and ration was given out at subsidised rates under the Act until now. The free ration was being distributed under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana and the new scheme will kick in with the new year.
Anar Devi lives in a village about 1,200 kilometres from the national capital Delhi. Her home is in Sarhua village, Palamu district’s Ramgarh block. Her husband, Sitaram Bhuiyan, owns farmland that is smaller than an acre.
— source downtoearth.org.in | Raju Sajwan | 26 Dec 2022