May 2013 News 8: GOVERNMENT CLEARS REVISED FOOD SECURITY BILL

GOVERNMENT CLEARS REVISED FOOD SECURITY BILL

The government on March 19, 2013 approved the revised Food Security Bill to provide for uniform 5 kg of foodgrains per month per person at a highly subsidized price of R1-R3 per kg to two-thirds of the country's population. The extra burden on the food subsidy would be about Rs. 20,000 crore from the current level, while foodgrain requirement is expected to be 61.23 million tonnes.