Question : POLICY FOR FOODGRAIN ALLOCATION

(a) whether the Government has any policy governing the allocation under the Public Distribution System and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the State of Kerala is entitled to allocation of various items under the Food Security Act, and if so, the details thereof indicating the quantum of the said items allocated during each of the last three years and the current year, item-wise;

(c) whether there is any provision to increase the allocation for the States in accordance with increase in the population; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAOSAHEB PATIL DANVE)

(a) & (b): Under the existing Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) foodgrains (rice, wheat and coarse grains) are allocated to States/Union Territories(UTs) @ 35 kg per family per month for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families (including Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families) and @ 15-35 kg per family per month for Above Poverty Line (APL) families at subsidised Central Issue Prices (CIPs) on the basis of 1993-94 poverty estimates of Planning Commission and March 2000 population estimates of Registrar General of India (RGI) or the number of families identified/ration cards issued to them by the respective State Government/UT Administration, whichever is less.

Under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) allocation is based on 2011 population estimates @ 5 kg per person per month belonging to priority category and @ 35 kg per family per month for AAY family at highly subsidized prices specified in Schedule I of the Act. Under the NFSA, Kerala will be entitled for allotment of 14.25 lakh tons of foodgrains per annum. However, State has not implemented NFSA so far. Item-wise details of allocation of foodgrains made to Kerala during the last three years and current years are at Annex.

(c) & (d): Under the NFSA, the coverage is based on the population estimates as per the census of which relevant figures have been published. Considering availability of foodgrains stocks in the Central Pool, Government allocates additional foodgrains to meet the additional demand. Details of additional foodgrains allocated under TPDS during the last 3 years and the current years are as under:

 Year	Additional allocation	of foodgrains (In lakh tons) 2011-12	124.00 2012-13	131.00 2013-14	110.00 2014-15#	66.45