SFSS Beneficiaries To Get 5Kg Free Rice: CM Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: The State Food Security Scheme beneficiaries will receive free rice for a full calendar year, from January 23 to December 23, informed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

As instructed by the CM, the state government has now agreed to give beneficiaries of the SFSS their 5-kg entitlement of rice for free for a 12-month period beginning in January 2023. The State Exchequer will pay the total cost of Rs. 185 crores.

The State Government has been distributing 5 kgs of rice per person per month to the left-out eligible beneficiaries covered under the State scheme called ‘State Food Security Scheme at Rs. 1 per kg since October 2018. Now it will be free of cost.

The COVID-19 pandemic condition that has prevailed in the State for the past 28 months has also resulted in additional rice and pulses being given to these recipients. Additionally, each family received an Rs. 1000 financial incentive twice under the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) and National Food Security Act.