Karnataka govt to provide additional 5 kgs of rice under Anna Bhagya scheme from February

The Congress government had promised to provide 10 kgs of rice every month to each member of families falling below the poverty line (BPL). This includes 5 kgs of rice supplied by the Centre under the National Food Security Act, 2013.

Bengaluru: The prolonged face-off between the Centre and the state government over procuring rice for the latter’s flagship ‘Anna Bhagya’ guarantee scheme finally ended with Karnataka deciding to purchase rise from the Union government at Rs 22.5 per kg. 

Interacting with journalists on Wednesday, Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa said: “I have met Pralhad Joshi (Union Minister for Food and Consumer Affairs) twice. He has agreed to provide rice at Rs 22.5 per kg. If one includes transportation cost, it will come up to Rs 25 per kg.”

The Centre will sell rice to the state from February through June at the price agreed upon given that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) follows the June-to-June cycle for fixing rates, said Muniyappa. 

“However, Joshi has orally assured us of giving as much rice as we want throughout the year,” he added. Queried about the financial implications of the decision, Muniyappa said the state government could save anywhere between Rs 150-190 crore per month.

Centre-state tussle

The Anna Bhagya is one of the five flagship guarantees announced by the Congress in its manifesto for the 2023 assembly polls.

“Although rice was sufficiently stocked, the Centre did not give us 27.48 lakh (2.29 lakh per month) metric tonnes of rice per year. To stand by our word, we transferred Rs 170 in lieu of 5kg rice through Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) to each beneficiary,” said Muniyappa. 

Explaining the process of procuring rice from the Centre, Muniyappa said: “Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Haryana are paddy-growing states. There, the MSP for rice is around Rs 40-42 per kg of rice. But rice is being provided on a subsidy to the states.”

Delayed DBTs

When asked about the delay in completing DBT for BPL cardholders for November, December and January, the minister noted that payments had been processed and were in the pipeline. He noted that rice would be distributed the beneficiaries, starting February. 

Data from the Department of Food and Consumer Affairs shows that Rs 10,452 crore has been transferred to beneficiaries through DBT from July 2023 to October 2024. As many as 4.12 crore beneficiaries received Rs 676.79 crore through DBT in
October 2024.

Ineligible BPL holders

When asked about the campaign to weed out ineligible BPL cards, the minister noted that ineligible BPL holders would be encouraged to voluntarily give up the cards, adding that advertisements would also be issued in that regard. “If they don’t surrender, we will fine them.” However, Muniyappa didn’t specify a date for the drive.