Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil has said ration card holders will get greater allocation of raw rice from this month onwards.Addressing media persons here on Saturday, Mr. Anil said the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had agreed to the government’s proposal to increase the quantity of raw rice being distributed by altering the proportion of items with parboiled rice from the existing 30:70 to 50:50.With raw rice being a prime component of breakfast and other dishes in several households in Kerala, the move was expected to benefit large sections, he said. He said the existing proportion could be retained in accordance with the priorities in various regions.Ration card holders will also receive an additional allocation of 10 kg of rice this month. Those possessing the non-priority, non-subsidy (NPNS white) ration cards can avail themselves of 7 kg out of the additional quota at a rate of ₹10.90 a kg and the remaining quantity at ₹15 a kg.Residents of orphanages who possess the brown ration cards will be entitled to an additional quota of 5 kg of which the first 2 kg of rice can be bought for ₹10.90 a kg and the rest for ₹15 a kg.For the non-priority, subsidy (NPS – blue) ration card holders, an additional quantity of 3 kg of rice can be bought through ration outlets at a rate of ₹15 a kg. Rice that costs over ₹30 a kg in the open market is being distributed at subsidised rates in the State, Mr. Anil said.
Kerosene
An additional allocation of 500 ml of kerosene will be provided to all ration card holders on account of Christmas. The total quantity (including the additional quota) for various sections are as follows: card holders without electric connection 8.5 litres, Annapurna Yojana (AY) and priority household (PHH) card holders 11.5 litres, NPNS and NPS card holders 1 litre.The government has also entered into an agreement with the FCI to replace the Sona Masoori variety of rice that is being supplied through the public distribution system with the more preferred ones of Jaya, Surekha and Bondalu. Besides, it has been decided to hold joint inspections at FCI godowns prior to procuring food grains for distribution. The move comes in the wake of instances of damaged food grains being supplied through the public distribution system.
Computerisation
Set to become the first department to achieve end-to-end computerisation, the Food and Civil Supplies department will oversee its 101 offices, including city rationing offices, taluk and district supply offices, migrating to the e-office system on February 15. Various activities, including ration distribution, food grain allocation, supply chain management and application for ration cards, were being undertaken in the online mode.