Indian Political CompassGovernment Scheme · Active
National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) — Public Distribution System
Entitles up to 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population to subsidised foodgrains — 5 kg per person per month at Rs 2/3 per kg — through the Public Distribution System.
What it does
NFSA legally guarantees subsidised foodgrains (rice, wheat, coarse grains) through the PDS ration shop network. Priority Household (PHH) beneficiaries receive 5 kg per person per month; Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households receive 35 kg per household per month. During COVID-19, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) provided an additional 5 kg free per month, later merged with NFSA from January 2023 so all NFSA grain became free.
Who it covers
State governments identify beneficiaries within Central Government-allocated numbers. PHH covers up to 75% rural / 50% urban population nationally. AAY covers the poorest of the poor — roughly 25 million households.
Funding
Food subsidy is the difference between the economic cost of grain to the Food Corporation of India and the statutory issue price charged to beneficiaries. Annual food subsidy exceeds Rs 2 lakh crore. From 2023, grain under NFSA is provided free, increasing the fiscal burden.
Scale
Approximately 813 million people are entitled to subsidised grain under NFSA. The PDS network covers over 500,000 fair price shops.
Criticism and debate
Leakage from the PDS (grain diverted to open market) has historically been significant, estimated at 30–40% before Aadhaar-based biometric authentication was introduced. Exclusion errors — genuinely poor households left off beneficiary lists — are a persistent problem. State-level variation in implementation quality is large. Making grain free from 2023 has removed the marginal revenue that discouraged some diversion but increased fiscal cost.
Related schemes
Content is editorial draft pending verification against official scheme guidelines, ministry press releases, and independent evaluations. Last reviewed: 2026-07-02.