Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay urged the Union Government to not proceed with a proposed change to the National Food Security Act, 2013, arguing that it would reduce food entitlements for the poorest households in the State.
Writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he requested that the Centre retain the existing entitlement under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), which provides 35 kg of foodgrains per household each month regardless of the number of family members.
The proposed amendment shifts the entitlement to a per-person basis—7 kg per person per month—while keeping a cap of 35 kg per household. Vijay argued that in Tamil Nadu, with an average household size of 3.54 members, this change effectively lowers the foodgrains for vulnerable AAY beneficiaries.
He warned that the change could diminish food security for nearly 70 lakh of Tamil Nadu’s most vulnerable citizens covered under AAY. Tamil Nadu has 18,64,600 AAY ration cards covering about 69,26,983 beneficiaries.
Related current affairs
- Explainer: Why is the Centre revising the NFSA—changing AAY foodgrain entitlements?
- Government raises onion procurement price under Price Stabilisation Buffer by 13% to ₹2,125 per quintal
- Government approves supply of improved-quality rice under PMGKAY; over 80 crore beneficiaries to receive better-quality rice
- Editor’s note/columns promotion: ‘Not ‘delulu’ — an AI tutor for every child’
- No change in Tamil Nadu’s stand on delimitation, says Minister
- Amit Shah to chair Southern Zonal Council in T.N. today