&w=3840&q=100)
Scope for adding 7.9 million more beneficiaries under food law: Govt in RS
The National Food Security Act (NFSA), which was passed by the Parliament in 2013, provides for coverage of up to 75 per cent of rural population and up to 50 per cent of urban population.
This covers about two-thirds of the total population of the country, which comes to 813.5 million based on Census 2011, the government said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
"At present, against the intended coverage of 813.5 million, the States/UTs have identified only 805.6 million persons. Still, there is a scope of identification of 7.9 million more beneficiaries under the NFSA," said Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
She informed that Section 9 of the Act provides that the total number of persons to be covered in rural and urban areas of the State should be calculated on the basis of the population estimates as per the published Census.
"Therefore, any revision in coverage shall be possible only after the relevant data of next population Census is published," the minister said.
She also mentioned that States are responsible for identification of beneficiaries and issuance of their ration cards.
"States are undertaking updation of their beneficiary database so that ineligible ration cards get deleted and better targeting of rightful beneficiaries is ensured. Thus, deletion of ineligible beneficiaries and addition of eligible beneficiaries under the Act is a continuous process," the minister asserted.
Under the NFSA or food law, Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households that constitute the poorest of the poor are legally entitled to receive 35 kg of foodgrains per family per month and priority households are entitled to 5 kg per person per month.
At present, the Centre is providing free rations (wheat and rice) to all beneficiaries.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Guv returns Aparajita bill to assembly, cites concerns over BNS amendments
Kolkata: Bengal governor C V Ananda Bose has returned the Aparajita bill to the assembly citing serious objections raised by the Centre regarding proposed changes to BNS, according to a high-ranking Raj Bhavan source. The Centre found that the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, passed in Sept 2024, contained "excessively harsh and disproportionate" punishment provisions for rape under multiple BNS sections, sources said. A major point of contention is an amendment to Section 64 of BNS. The bill suggests increasing the punishment for rape from the current minimum of 10 years to either imprisonment for the remainder of the convict's natural life or capital punishment. The MHA reportedly deemed this escalation as unduly harsh and inconsistent with principles of proportionality. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Another controversial change involves the removal of BNS Section 65, which prescribes stricter penalties for sexual assault of minors. Union govt officials believe scrapping this clause weakens protections for vulnerable groups and risks diluting the intent behind age-based classifications in rape laws. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pune: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo Bengal govt on Friday said it had received no official communication from Centre nor the governor's office about these observations. Earlier, bills similar to Aparajita, like Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019, and Maharashtra Shakti Bill, 2020 — which had a mandatory death penalty for all rape and gang-rape cases — were passed unanimously by state legislatures but did not get assent from the President. Strongly objecting to the development, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: "The returning of the Aparajita bill is unfortunate, deplorable and condemnable. CM Mamata Banerjee proposed it keeping in mind women's safety and dignity and proposed harsher penalties for crimes against it... CM Banerjee will surely address the issue and concerns raised by Raj Bhavan and respond appropriately. However, this incident has proved that BJP is unwilling to impose maximum punishment in these cases, as their members are implicated in molestations and rapes. We reiterate that this is a model bill that should have been passed."


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Sale of spurious seeds to be non-bailable offence in Punjab
Chandigarh: The Punjab cabinet on Friday approved the introduction of The Seeds ( Punjab Amendment) Bill 2025, which will make the sale of spurious seeds a non-bailable offence. Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the cabinet gave its consent to introduce The Seeds (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2025 to ensure the supply of high-quality seeds to farmers of Punjab. There had been no amendment in Section 19 of the Seeds Act 1966 since its inception, due to which the fines and penalties had no deterrence. According to the proposed provisions, the first offence by a company will invite punishment of one to two years and a fine of Rs 5 to 10 lakh, whereas punishment of two to three years and a fine of Rs 10 to 50 lakh will be imposed for repeated offences. Similarly, if a dealer or an individual is at fault, it will invite punishment of six months to one year and a fine of Rs 1 to 5 lakh for the first offence, and a term of one to two years and a fine of Rs 5 to 10 lakh for repeated offences. Previously, such an offence was punishable by a fine of Rs 500 for the first offence, with subsequent violations carrying a fine of Rs 1,000 and imprisonment for up to six months. The cabinet gave the nod to enact a Bill to amend the Seeds Act and insert Section 19A for contravention of Section 7 of the Seeds Act (Regulation of sales of seeds of notified kinds or varieties), enhancing the fine and penalty, making it cognisable and non-bailable. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Japanese AI invention allows you to speak 68 languages instantly. The idea? Genius. Enence 2.0 Undo by Taboola by Taboola "It was a long-pending demand of farmers in the state who suffered losses due to substandard seeds. Both the Centre and the state are authorised to bring in such a legislation," said Cheema. Nod to OTS for industrialists The cabinet also gave nod for introducing a one-time settlement scheme (OTS) for the settlement of interest-free loans for seed margin money. For this, the Punjab State Aid to Industries Act, 1935, and the integrated rural development program (IRDP) will be amended. Cheema said that the Act was not amended since 1935. "The cabinet has decided to waive Rs 97.60 crore interest on seed money of small amounts of Rs 2,000 or Rs 5,000 given since 1935. It used to be a considerable amount at that time. The seed money used to be given without any collateral security. The state govt will now recover Rs 11.54 crore from the 1,054 beneficiaries identified so far. Mechanism to provide land parcels The cabinet also gave concurrence for evolving a mechanism to provide land parcels (on sale or lease basis) for promoting industrial investment in the state. The move is aimed at giving impetus to investment in the state. Till now, there was a lack of a formalised, time-bound mechanism for identifying and provisioning land parcels for investors seeking land. Upper age for group D recruitment enhanced In a relief to the aspirants of the group D posts, the cabinet also gave approval to amend rules 5 (b) and 5 (d) of the Punjab State (Group D) Service Rules, 1963, thereby enhancing the upper age limit from the existing 35 years to 37 years. The age limit for appointment in Group 'D' services in Punjab was 16 to 35 years, while for Group A, B, and C posts, as per PCS Rules 1994, it was 18 to 37 years. For uniformity, the Punjab State Group-D Service Rules Rule 5(b) has been amended to keep the date on age of appointment between 18 to 37 years. Educational qualification under Rule 5(d) has been modified from 'Middle' to 'Matriculation'. Bids for retendering The cabinet also gave ex post facto approval of relaxation in the time frame to invite bids in the re-tender floated for the purchase of 46,000 black polythene covers for the Rabi marketing season (RMS) 2025-26. For ensuring safe storage, maintenance, and preservation of wheat worth Rs 30,000 crores during Rabi Marketing Season 2025-26, ex-post facto approval is sought for relaxing the period for procurement of the covers. It was necessitated to ensure fumigation before the onset of monsoons and to safeguard open stocks from the vagaries of nature. Punjab District Mineral Foundation Rules The cabinet gave approval to revise Punjab District Mineral Foundation (DMF) rules as per revised GOI guidelines under Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), 2024. The revisions will ensure transparency in the implementation of projects, powers, duties, and responsibilities such as five-year perspective planning, high-priority sectors for utilisation of DMF funds, and restriction on fund transfer from DMF. Advisory managing committee of temples The cabinet gave its consent for amendments in the advisory managing committee of Kali Devi, Raj Rajeshwari Temple, Patiala, authorising the CM to nominate the chairman and members of the advisory managing committee. Likewise, the go-ahead was given for changes in the financial powers of the chairman, secretary, members, and management committee. Punjab Value Added Tax Rules The cabinet also gave its concurrence for amendment in the Punjab Value Added Tax Rules, 2005, stipulating that the chairman and other members of the Punjab VAT tribunal will be entitled to HRA and DA at such rates which are applicable to officers of Punjab. Hassle-free transportation of food grains The cabinet also gave nod to "The Punjab Food Grains Transportation Policy 2025" and 'The Punjab Labour & Cartage Policy, 2025" for hassle-free transportation of food grains in the state. The state procurement agencies and the FCI procure food grains every season. As per the policy during the year 2025, food grain transportation works will be allotted through a competitive and transparent online tender system. MSID:: 122907893 413 | MSID:: 122907893 413 |


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Centre increases monthly incentive of ASHAs to 3,500
T'puram: Bringing partial relief to the protesting ASHAs in Kerala, the Centre increased their fixed monthly incentive from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500. The revised incentive was approved at the mission steering group meeting held on March 4, and was formally communicated in the Lok Sabha by minister of state for health and family welfare Prataprao Jadhav, in response to a question raised by Kollam MP N K Premachandran. According to a statement from the MP's office, the minister also announced that the retirement benefit for ASHAs with a minimum of 10 years of service was raised from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000. The eligibility norms for receiving incentives were restructured, and additional project-based performance incentives will continue. The Centre clarified that while it extends technical and financial support, the primary responsibility to improve the service conditions and remuneration of ASHAs lies with the state govts. The minister's reply was part of a broader response to questions concerning the ongoing protest by ASHAs in Kerala, who have been camping in front of Secretariat demanding a hike in the state share of their honorarium and a retirement benefit of Rs 5 lakh. So far, the state govt has not responded positively to their demands. The Centre informed Parliament that under the Ayushman Arogya Mandir programme, an additional Rs 1,000 is given monthly to ASHAs. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Were So Beautiful Before; Now Look At Them; Number 10 Will Shock You Reportingly Undo It also highlighted provisions such as uniforms, ID cards, mobile phones, CUG SIMs, bicycles, ASHA diaries, drug kits and rest rooms being made available to workers in many parts of the country. According to the statement, despite these central provisions, disparities in state-level incentives remain wide. Maharashtra and Sikkim provide the highest monthly payments at Rs 10,000, followed by Andhra Pradesh with Rs 7,200, and both Kerala and Puducherry at Rs 7,000. Telangana pays Rs 6,750, Haryana Rs 6,100, Himachal Pradesh Rs 5,500 and West Bengal Rs 5,250. Karnataka offers Rs 5,000 while Rajasthan pays Rs 4,500, Madhya Pradesh Rs 4,000, Odisha Rs 3,500 and several northeastern and Union Territories pay between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500. The lowest honorariums are reported from Andaman and Nicobar Islands and some areas in Delhi, where workers receive as little as Rs 500. Premachandran urged the state govt to act urgently and match the Centre's efforts. He said that while the Centre stepped up its role, it was ultimately the state's responsibility to ensure fair wages, service benefits, and dignity for frontline health workers who form the backbone of the rural public health system.