Hyderabad, February 8: Recent statements by certain central leaders claiming that the Centre fully funds the food grains distributed under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Telangana have been called into question. In reality, the allocation of ration cards is fixed and capped for each state by the central government. To extend benefits to a broader segment of deserving beneficiaries, state governments issue additional ration cards at their own expense.
In Telangana, out of a total of 8,989,836 ration cards held by beneficiaries, the Centre subsidizes 5,466,814 cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The state government supports the remaining 3,523,022 cardholders. Collectively, these cards cater to 28,141,920 family members. Of these, the Government of India bears the subsidy burden for 19,169,600 individuals, while the state supports 8,973,320 members associated with the state-issued cards.
It’s noteworthy that for the six kilograms of rice provided to central cardholders under the PDS, the Centre covers the cost of five kilograms, with the additional kilogram funded by the state government. In the fiscal year 2024-25, the combined expenditure on subsidies by both the Centre and the state amounted to ₹9,031.68 crores. Of this, the central government’s share was ₹4,805.07 crores, while the state contributed ₹4,226.61 crores. The monthly expenditures are ₹400.42 crores and ₹352.22 crores for the Centre and state, respectively.
Officials have indicated that the anticipated issuance of 4.8 million new ration cards, following beneficiary identification through Praja Palana, gram sabhas, and socio-economic surveys, will be entirely financed by the state government.
The state received 3.1 million applications during the Praja Palana initiative, which are currently undergoing field-level verification. Additionally, data from the Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political, and Caste Survey has been utilized. A total of 49,704 individuals applied for cards through Mee Seva and the caste survey. Efforts are underway to eliminate duplications, as 2.1 million individuals who already possessed ration cards also applied for new ones; these cases have been verified using specialized software. Officials emphasize that measures are being taken to ensure no eligible person is excluded.
In 2014, the state adopted the Centre’s norms for issuing ration cards. State officials have reported that in a letter dated November 20, 2023, they requested the Centre to increase the number of NFSA beneficiaries under Section 9 of the National Food Security Act, 2013. The letter highlighted that raising the income eligibility limit for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families to ₹1.5 lakhs in rural areas and ₹2 lakhs in urban areas, along with setting landholding ceilings at 3.5 acres for wetland and 7.5 acres for dry land, imposes constraints on the number of beneficiaries.
