Page 624 - ES 2020-21_Volume-1-2 [28-01-21]

Agriculture & Food Management 251

7.55 A special dispensation was introduced, w.e.f. 8 April, 2020, for supply of foodgrains
th
to all the charitable/ non-governmental organizations etc. engaged in providing relief or in
running community kitchens for migrant labourers and vulnerable groups during the lock
down. Under this scheme, wheat at the uniform rate of ` 21 per kilogram and rice at the
uniform rate of ` 22 per kilogram are issued to charitable institutions/NGOs. There is no
upper limit for allocation of foodgrains to each such organization from any FCI depot. This
special dispensation was initially upto June, 2020 which has been extended at the same rate
and terms and conditions for the rest of the year 2020-21. Under the scheme, till 12.01.2021,
a total quantity of 1246 MT of wheat and 10418 MT of rice has been lifted by 229 and 1126
Charitable/NGOs respectively.

Figure 17: Quantities of Wheat and Rice Sold under the OMSS (D) (Quantity. in lakh MT)

90 81.84
80
70
60
50 45.67
40 36.36
30
20 14.22 16.12 10.36 12.87
10 1.78 4.9 8.46
0
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21*
Wheat Rice

Source: Based on data received from DFPD
* Upto 2 tender January, 2021.
nd
Food Subsidy

7.53 The difference between the per quintal economic cost and the per quintal Central Issue
Price (CIP) gives the quantum of per quintal food subsidy. In order to ensure food security to
the vulnerable sections, the Government has continued with the subsidized pricing under NFSA.
The CIP of wheat and rice for NFSA beneficiaries has not been revised since the introduction of
the Act in 2013 from ` 200 per quintal in case of wheat and ` 300 per quintal in case of rice. On
the other hand, the economic cost of wheat for FCI operations has increased from ` 1908.32 per
quintal in 2013-14 to ` 2683.84 per quintal in 2020-21. Similarly, the economic cost of rice has
increased from ` 2615.51 per quintal in 2013-14 to ` 3723.76 per quintal in 2020-21. Further,
the NFSA provides a wider coverage than the erstwhile TPDS. These all taken together has
resulted in the rise in food subsidy (Figure 18).