State Extends SFS Scheme: Beneficiaries To Get Free Rice For Three Additional Months

Bhubaneswar: The beneficiaries covered under the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) will continue to get free rice for an additional three months, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) informed today.

CMO further announced that CM Naveen Patnaik has instructed the relevant officials to extend the delivery of an additional 5 kg of rice per month at no additional cost to SFSS recipients beginning in October 2020.

Prior to this, the SFSS recipients’ benefit of five kg of free rice was extended from December 2021 to March 2022 and then for a further six months (April to September 2022)

The move will assist almost 9.05 lakh of the 2.92 lakh families who were beneficiaries of the programme. According to the statement, the state government will spend 49 crores from its own funds distributing 13,575 tonnes of rice from the state pool for the purpose.

This will make it easier for beneficiaries of the SFSS to maintain parity with those covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)

Interestingly, the Union cabinet approved a proposal to prolong the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) for three additional months, from October to December 2022. The centre now offers the NFSA beneficiaries an additional five kg of rice or wheat each month in addition their customary monthly quota for free under the PMGKAY.