By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:In order to further strengthen food security by making rice available to the consumers in the state as per their requirements, for the financial year 2026-27, the state government has decided to allocate additional rice quota to the beneficiaries under the ‘National Food Security Act’ (NFSA) and ‘State Food Security Scheme’ (SFSS) through a new scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana’.
Through this scheme, the state cabinet today approved the distribution of 5 kg additional rice per capita per month, free of cost, to all beneficiary households under the state’s Targeted Public Distribution System, in addition to their regular monthly rice quota.
Currently, 3 crore 22 lakh 89 thousand 692 members of 97 lakh 97 thousand 572 families in the state are benefiting under the National Food Security Act, while 5 lakh 62 thousand 737 members of 2 lakh 98 thousand 725 families are benefiting under the State Food Security Scheme.
A total of 3,28,52,429 members of 1,96,297 families are benefiting under both the schemes. All these beneficiaries will now get the benefits of ‘Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana’.
The State Cabinet has approved the distribution of free rice under the ‘Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana (MAPY)’ to the beneficiaries under the Targeted Public Distribution System of the state, at an average monthly rate of 1.64 lakh metric tonnes, i.e. an annual average of 19.71 lakh metric tonnes.
The state cabinet has approved the proposal to spend an average of Rs 734 crore per month for the financial year 2026-27, with an annual expenditure of Rs 8,813 crore.
