BHUBANESWAR: The government of Odisha has extended distribution of rice free-of-cost to the beneficiaries covered under its own State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) for a duration of another 3 months.

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) announced on Saturday that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has instructed the concerned officials to extend the distribution of an additional 5 kg of rice per month at no additional cost to SFSS recipients beginning in October 2022.

Prior to this, the State Food Security Scheme recipients' benefit of five kilogrammes of free rice was extended from December 2021 to March 2022 and then for a further six months (April to September, 2022).

The move will assist almost 9.05 lakh of the 2.92 lakh families who were beneficiaries of the programme. According to the statement, the state government will spend Rs 49 crore from its own funds to distribute 13,575 tonnes of rice from the state pool for this purpose.

Source, this will make it easier for beneficiaries of the State Food Security Scheme to maintain parity with those covered by the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

Notably, the Union cabinet approved a proposal to prolong the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAYfree )'s foodgrain distribution programme for three additional months, from October to December 2022, on September 28.

The Center now offers the NFSA beneficiaries an additional five kg of rice or wheat each month in addition to their customary monthly quota for free under the PMGKAY.

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