Overview
- The Department of Food and Public Distribution released the draft National Food Security (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday, June 24, and invited comments from stakeholders until July 13.
- Under the draft, every person in an Antyodaya Anna Yojana household would be entitled to 7 kg of foodgrain per month while a family cannot receive more than 35 kg in total.
- Smaller AAY households stand to lose ration quantities under the new formula—for example a three‑member family would drop from 35 kg to 21 kg each month—while larger families would keep or gain up to the 35 kg cap.
- Civil society groups and some state governments warned that tighter Aadhaar linkage and targeted databases in the draft could cause wrongful exclusion of vulnerable people and complicate delivery.
- Analysts say the change could cut AAY grain needs sharply and affect subsidy bills, and the draft also reopens a debate over whether the scheme’s long‑standing cap on 2.5 crore families should be recast as a cap on persons.