Ministers to discuss Food Security Bill on Friday

The Empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) on food are scheduled to meet in New Delhi tomorrow to discuss the draft Food Security Bill that proposes to provide 25 kilograms of foodgrain per month to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families at Rs 3 per kilogram.

The Empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) on food are scheduled to meet in New Delhi on Friday to discuss the draft Food Security Bill that proposes to provide 25 kilograms of foodgrain per month to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families at Rs 3 per kilogram.

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The eGoM on food, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, will also assess the price and stock situation of sugar, wheat and rice, besides considering revision of the Central issue price of foodgrain distributed through ration shops, sources said.

In its previous meeting on April 5, the eGoM had asked the Planning Commission to define BPL, following which the panel decided to adopt the Suresh Tendulkar Committee's methodology for poverty estimate, which means that the number of BPL families will go up to about 8.1 crore.

At present, the Centre provides 35 kilograms of foodgrain per month to 6.52 crore BPL families through the Public Distribution System (PDS).

On March 18, the eGoM had cleared the draft Bill but it was returned after United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi asked for key changes to be made in the Bill, including raising the quantity to 35 kilograms and widening the scope of beneficiaries.