Context: After the refusal by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide additional rice to Karnataka, the launch of the Anna Bhagya scheme by the State government has been planned to make the availability of rice at competitive cost in other States.

About the Rice conflict

• About 28 lakh tonnes of rice is required every month to provide an additional five kgs of rice per person in the family of those holding BPL and Antyodaya cards.

• If Karnataka gets rice from other States, it has to spend a minimum of Rs 2.60 per kg on transportation while it could go up further in case rice comes from

• Besides, the cost of implementing the scheme could go up as the State may have to purchase rice from the open market.

Key highlights of the scheme

• Karnataka Anna Bhagya Scheme is also called as” Karnataka Free Rice Distribution Scheme" in which free of cost food grains will be given by the Government of Karnataka.

• The following benefits will be provided to eligible beneficiaries of Karnataka under Karnataka Anna Bhagya Scheme :-

• Free of Cost Rice will be given to all beneficiaires.

• 10 Kg of Rice per Person per Month will be given.

• Person belongs to below poverty line (BPL) are only eligible to get free of cost rice under Karnataka Anna Bhagya Scheme.

• Having a BPL Card is mandatory to avail the benefit of scheme.

• There is no cap on family members, every family member will get free of cost 10 Kg rice per month per head.

• Eligible Persons/ Households will have to wait little more to get their Free of Cost 10 Kg Rice under Karnataka Anna Bhagya Scheme/ Karnataka Free Rice Distribution Scheme.

• Government of Karnataka Announced date from which the beneficiary will get free food grains.

Implemented from

• From 1st of July 2023, every eligible beneficiary will get 10 kg of rice under Karnataka Anna Bhagya Scheme.

Food Corporation of India

• FCI is a statutory body set up in 1965 under the Food Corporations Act 1964.

• It was established against the backdrop of major shortage of grains, especially wheat.

• Simultaneously, Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) was created in 1965 to recommend remunerative prices to farmers.

Role

• It has primary duty to undertake purchase, store, and move/transport, distribute and sell food grains and other foodstuffs.

Targeted Public Distribution System

• The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was launched in 1997 to benefit the poor and to keep the budgetary food subsidies under control to the desired extent following failure of the earlier PDS system.

• Conceptually, the transition from universal PDS to TPDS was a move in the right direction, as it was designed to include all the poor households and raise the unit subsidy and ration quota considerably for them.

• TPDS aims at providing food grains to people below the poverty line at highly subsidised prices from the PDS and food grains to people above the poverty line at much higher prices than the poverty line.

• Thus, the TPDS adopted by the Government of India maintains the universal character of the PDS but adds a special focus on the people below the poverty line.

• The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) has been notified which provides for all India coverage of upto 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population of the country for receiving highly subsidized foodgrains.